The Dark Legacy
by Jezaray
Summary: Following Voldemort’s demise, Harry begins Auror training, but all is not well. Harry begins having ominous dreams, seeing strange shadows, and even hearing voices. He suspects he is plagued by dark magic, but who is behind it?
1. Deeperbourg

The Dark Legacy

Chapter One: Deeperbourg

_Author's Note: This starts where the books left off, minus the epilogue. Enjoy…

* * *

  
_

_The dream began like all the others._

_Harry was in a large field of grass, which swayed gently in a breeze he couldn't feel. He was drawn steadily towards a small grove of trees directly ahead, floating gently toward them until he could see something perched in their shadows. It was a small hut, roughly hewn from planks of wood, nestled among the twisted shrubs. The door dangled precariously from a single upper hinge, hanging open at an angle. The door was like a dark hole. Nothing moved within. _

_Still, Harry was drawn inside. Once he crossed the threshold, he began to see the interior of the hut, but he didn't examine them. Directly in front of him was a dirty, ripped armchair with the stuffing spilling out, and on it was seated an old man. His salt and pepper hair fell forward over his deeply creased cheeks, and the lower half of his face was obscured with a short, thick beard, but his piercing dark eyes immediately drew Harry's attention. The old man was looking at the doorway expectantly, as if he'd been waiting. He saw Harry and smiled widely. Surprisingly, his teeth were complete, and very white and straight. They shone whitely in the darkness of the room, and Harry felt like the old man's eyes could look into his soul. _

_This was when the dream usually ended, but this time it continued. The old man moved his hands, and Harry noticed for the first time that the old man held something in his lap. It was a jar. The glass jar was completely clear, and filled with a thick, white-silver swirling liquid that moved on its own, twisting in tantalizing spirals. The jar was pristine, even though the hands that gripped it were grimy. The old man wrapped a hand with dirty fingernails around the lid of the jar, and twisted. With a squeak that told of long disuse, it came open. _

_Taking his eyes off Harry for the first time, the old man looked down into the jar. He murmured something to it, and a tendril of the liquid detached itself from the mass in the jar and rose up into the air. Harry recognized it immediately; it was a thought, like the ones wizards could keep in a pensieve. It hovered in the air above the jar, and the old man gently blew on it. Caught in that small wind, it began to float slowly across the room, crossing the distance between the armchair and the doorway where Harry stood, watching. Harry took a step back. The thought followed with slow inevitability. _

"_Can't run," the old man said. It was the smooth, silky voice of a man much younger, somehow familiar, and it followed Harry into the waking world.

* * *

  
_

"Breakfast, Master!" Kreacher said, thumping the headboard of Harry's bed, which vibrated, sending disorienting sounds from several directions. Harry sat up quickly, peering at the house elf, who was holding a heavy tray of food. Harry wondered what Kreacher had thumped the headboard with.

"You didn't have to bring me breakfast in bed, Kreacher—" Harry began.

"Nonsense!" said Ron from the doorway. He strode inside. "Breakfast in bed is exactly what we need." He looked at Harry speculatively. "You don't look so good mate."

"Didn't sleep well," Harry admitted, sliding out from underneath the covers. "Compromise, Ron? We'll eat in the bedroom, but at the table."

It was one of the nice features of the room Harry had chosen for himself at Sirius's and now his, home. The room had blue and red patterned wallpaper and dark wood furnishings. Across from the bed, in front of a large window that extended almost all the way to the floor, was a small round table with two chairs. Kreacher set the tray on the table and disappeared with a loud crack. Both boys, still in PJs, sat to enjoy breakfast. Outside the sun was just peeking out from behind the trees, beginning to rise.

"Early, isn't it," Ron said cheerfully.

"Since when are you cheerful in the morning?" Harry asked, trying not to sound annoyed.

"Since we start Auror training today," Ron said, practically vibrating in his seat. "Think about it. We'll be way ahead of everyone else, with everything we've been through."

Harry just groaned. _I was excited, yesterday… I feel like I haven't slept at all. It's going to be a long day._

"And you're more famous than ever," Ron added. "You'll probably be an instructor favorite."

Harry groaned louder. "That's just what I need, for everyone else to hate me."

"Don't be so dramatic," Ron said, rolling his eyes. He polished off his pancakes and left the room so they could both change into their new uniforms.

Instead of robes like they'd worn at Hogwarts, the uniform comprised of loose, casual pants and a long sleeved shirt with a stripe on each side, from the shoulder to the wrist. The stripe continued down the side of the pants. The uniform was blue, and the stripe was bright white. Over this came a black cloak that could be closed to look like a robe, or easily discarded. On the front pocket of the shirt and on the back of the cloak were the letters MOAT, for Ministry Ordained Auror Trainee.

Once Harry was dressed he stood in front of the full length mirror on the inside door of his closet. He rarely looked in the mirror. _I've grown up a lot these last years, _he thought. He filled out the uniform pretty well, and he was proud to be wearing it. The Auror aptitude tests had been pretty difficult, but after his experiences with Voldemort he had been well prepared.

Something in the mirror moved, Harry turned his head quickly, but missed it. He looked around, but everything was still. As he stared about, he had the very strong feeling that something was wrong. It wasn't until he stepped out into his room, which was becoming brighter lit by the sun, that he realized what it was.

His own shadow. It was missing.

Harry gasped, and stared at where it should be. He then looked around the room, as if he could find an explanation.

"Harry, are you ready? We'll be late for our first day!" Ron barged in, as usual.

"Ron," Harry said, looking back down… but his shadow was right where it should be.

"What?" Ron asked. He picked up his duffel bag, and pressed Harry's into his hands.

"…Nothing," Harry said. _Maybe I imagined it… I'll do some research. Maybe there's a common Wizard ailment in which shadows go missing, and then I'll ask Ron. But I won't say anything before then. _Harry sometimes had the feeling his own friends were watching him, to see if he would belatedly crack. Or that the pressure of being famous would finally drive him crazy. _They'll think I have… post traumatic stress disorder or something. _Harry's head pounded with a headache.

"No, I'm ready," he assured Ron and they both pulled out their wands and apparated to the prearranged meeting point. After a short, suffocating journey, they stood on a hilltop, with a single thick tree perched at the top. The tree had plenty of trunk, but not enough branches to keep from looking naked. Around them were several more hills which slopped down to a large flat area. A river wound by, and by the river was a small fort. It was made of dark gray stone, and appeared to be built deep into the hillside it was placed on. Small patches of forest surrounded them. The morning was cold and overcast, and the colors of the green trees were dulled, making the scene quite grim.

Harry had only been here once before, after first being accepted into the Auror training program. It was a secret location, he'd been brought there for the first time by portkey, and directions to the fort were non-existent. You were either invited, or you would never see it. If the location was ever discovered, they would move the program.

Trainees were gathering in the nearest dip between hills, which was too shallow to be called a valley. Glancing over them quickly, Harry thought there were about 22 trainees in total, male and female, all in the same uniform and carrying various sacks and duffels. Several Harry thought he recognized from his fourth year, when he had met students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. Some were familiar faces from Hogwarts.

"Welcome to Deeperbourg," said a bellowing voice, naming the fort. It was a well muscled man somewhere around age fifty. He wore a black cloak, as did the tall man standing to his left and the short-haired woman on his right. "Some of you are new," he added, not bellowing now that he had gotten everyone's attention.

As Harry approached, Harry noticed that some of the uniforms were different. On a number of trainees the single stripe was separated into two, and on yet others there were three stripes. _Designating your year of study, obviously._

"Some of you are not new," the man continued. "If you are here for the second or third year of study, please take your things to the barracks and report to your instructors. The rest of you stay for orientation."

Two thirds of the trainees dispatched from the crowd, and headed toward the fort. Soon there were only six left who would be beginning their training this year. The rest of them moved together to fill in the open spaces, trying to look confident. Harry bumped into Neville Longbottom, and they smiled at each other; Harry had already heard Neville would be there. He had been mildly surprised Neville had passed all the testing, and gotten enough Newts from Hogwarts, but Neville had changed even more than Harry over the past few years. _And maybe they make some kind of special allowances for the people who fought well against Voldemort in the final fight at Hogwarts, _Harry speculated.

"My name is Frederik Friedenwald," said the man. "I will be your main instructor for the three years you will be here at Deeperbourg, if you last the entire three years. The instructors stay with their same group of students throughout their study. Don't expect the next three years to be easy. Some of you come from Hogwarts or Durmstrang; I don't want you to think Auror training is anything like school. It isn't. You don't get any free time. You are not here to have fun. You are here to learn. Auror training will be very much like boot-camp. Tuesday through Saturday, the first part of your day you will devote to getting into shape physically, the middle of your day you will study theory and attend class and in the end of the day you will be presented with a challenge. Sundays no lessons, but you will need to spend the time studying as you will be testing on everything you learned the previous week by Monday, and be required to complete any challenges you were unable to finish during the week. If I feel at any time you are not right for this program, I reserve the right to boot you out of it. Any questions?"

The trainees stared at him silently.

"I know some of you may think being an Auror will be easier now that the Dark Lord is gone. While it is true that we no longer have a war on our hands, Voldemort left a mess and if you finish your training it will be your job to clean it up. His last followers still need to be flushed out. Not to mention that new dark wizards crop up all the time."

"The new Dark Lord," added someone in their group. It was a tall, extremely handsome dark haired young man, with thick dark eyebrows perched low over his eyes.

"New Dark Lord?" Ron asked. You could tell by his red eyebrows and the way they crept up his forehead that he hadn't counted on dealing with yet another dark lord.

"He's right!" Friedenwald bellowed and Neville jumped. "As soon as one dark lord dies, another one crops up somewhere. It's always been so. Finding dark lords is an intrinsic part of being an Auror."

_Wonderful, _Harry thought, trying to hold back a yawn. He wasn't bored, just tired. _We just have to find the next dark lord, before he becomes as powerful as Voldemort._

"Aurors often work with a partner," Friedenwald continued. "So for the time being you will be separated into twos." Ron glanced at Harry and grinned. "You will work with your partner and help them through the challenges. Once I've separated you into pre-selected partners, put your things away in the barracks and get to know each other." He pulled a list out of his pocket and unfolded it.

"Neville Longbottom and Jack Medoway," he announced. Neville was paired with a short, stocky female with very average looks and dirty blond hair that fell as far as her shoulders. She had the kind of face that would blend into a crowd, and Harry immediately liked her. She looked right at Friedenwald fearlessly, and had a no-nonsense set to her shoulders. _She'll be good for Neville, _Harry thought.

"Ron Weasley and Violet Rozanne Zais," Friedenwald said next. Ron shot a regretful glance towards Harry, but then looked with interest at his new partner, the second female in the group. She was slender and very beautiful, with dark hair that was cut short, close to her neck in the back and slightly longer in the front to frame her delicate face. Despite her dark hair her eyes were an ice blue. Harry knew this because she didn't spare a glance for the one who would be working with her, but stared unashamedly at Harry. Harry met her gaze and looked away, somewhat annoyed. _I don't need anything to make Ron jealous and upset. A pretty girl who is supposed to work with him but pays more attention to me would definitely do that._

"Harry James Potter and Bastian Akhart," Friedenwald finished, and tucked his list away. Nodding a farewell to the group he vanished, apparating away. Harry found himself next to the tall young man who had spoken up before. Neville and Jack were headed away already, with Violet close behind, making no effort to speak to Ron, and ignoring him all together. Ron trailed behind her, looking over his shoulder for an opportunity to speak to Harry, but he didn't get one as Bastian fell into step beside Harry.

Since they'd already been introduced, Bastian silently offered his hand, and Harry shook it. "Harry Potter, from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…" Bastian said in acknowledgement, "I do read the newspapers." He gave a charming smile. "I went to Durmstrang, myself."

"Oh yeah?" Harry said with feigned interest. _Really Harry, try and care more, _He told himself. _ You have to work with this guy every day. Try and socialize with him. _Bastian chattered on about Durmstrang, and Harry lost focus.

Through the large front gate and the thick walls, the new trainees followed in the footsteps of where the others had gone. They found a long room already filled with trainees, and two rows of bunk beds: The Barracks. Ron picked a lower bunk near the door, and Harry threw his duffel on the top. Bastian took the next bunk, with Violet on top, and Neville and Jack claimed the one across from Harry and Ron, on the other wall. Several of the older trainees were watching them as they chattered, interested in the new faces and they watched Harry in particular.

Harry caught Violet staring at him again with her piercing eyes. This time she sent him a sly smile. Bastian immediately tried to engage her in conversation, trying to charm the nearest pretty face, and she smoothly countered his flirting. Jack and Neville were already deep in conversation, and Ron was standing next to Harry, bemoaning his new partner.

"She hasn't said a thing to me yet, hasn't even looked at me, how are we supposed to be partners? You and I should have been paired together, and those two— look at them hit it off…"

Harry let all the chatter fade to a murmuring noise and decided if they had time to waste on the first day he would use it wisely, and steal a quick nap. The upper bunk was low, and he could climb into it within two seconds by standing on the edge of the lower bunk, no ladder was needed or offered. His head hit the pillow and he was gone.

* * *

_There was a different version of this story posted here before, which I started before the HP books were complete. Now that they're done I had rewritten it to begin after the last book. _

_Jez_


	2. River Run

The Dark Legacy

Chapter Two: River Run

* * *

_For a split second, Harry found himself back where his last dream had left off. He saw the thought still floating in the air in front of him, and then it touched him and sunk into his skin. There was a flash of silver-white light, and he was somewhere else, and unsure whether the previous moment had ever occurred at all._

_Now he was running. His heart was pounding, and his breathing was ragged. He had been going in a full out sprint for way too long. _

_He remembered this night… he was seven years old, he had dropped a piece of Aunt Petunia's best china, she had shrieked at him, and Uncle Vernon had yelled at him so furiously that Harry had fled the house. But this was nothing like a thought from a pensieve— he wasn't watching at all, he was actually living the memory. The memory had changed, as well, Harry couldn't remember running as far, or being as frantic. Hadn't he soon slunk back into the house? The rain had been too heavy, he could feel it hitting his face as he ran. _

_There was a loud crash-BANG! Harry found himself tripping, almost falling, as the dirt at his ankles exploded with a flash of light. Harry glanced over his shoulder, gasping, and saw that dark figures were following him, appearing and reappearing in the dark, somehow always remaining right behind him. In the memory, Harry was confused, panicked, and desperate. However, the sleeping Harry realized immediately who they were: dark wizards, probably Death Eaters, come to have a little fun with The-Boy-Who-Lived. He had strayed too far from the house and too quickly, in the dark and in the rain, for anyone watching the house like Mrs. Figg to see him. _

_Harry ran through a small grove of trees and there was another explosion; young Harry was knocked off his feet and landed face first in a puddle. He rolled over and shrunk away from the men standing over him. _

"_GO AWAY!" Harry screamed, and PUSHED at them. Suddenly they seemed disoriented, stumbling back. As if he weren't there, they turned away and departed, disappearing into the night. Harry blinked rain out of his eyes, expecting them to come back any second. A few tense moments passed, and it seemed as if they were gone for good. Slowly Harry got to his feet, trying to catch his breath, and turned to go home. After a few steps, he stopped. _

_There was a hut blocking the way, standing in the middle of the grove of trees. But this was impossible; Harry had run right through that very spot, not more than two minutes ago. The hut had sprung up from the ground._

_Sleeping Harry recognized it immediately, and wasn't at all surprised to see the familiar face of the old man peering out of the hut._

"_Step inside and rest a moment," said the old man. "You're tired, and it will stop raining soon."_

_Harry was bewildered, but chose not to argue this logic, and entered the small hut. As precarious and ill-built it looked from the outside, not a single drop of rain leaked inside, and it was cozy warm._

_As if reading his thoughts, the old man told him, "The outside of my home is merely an appearance to keep people uninterested and make them keep their distance."_

"_It wasn't here a moment ago," Harry told him matter-of-factly. His seven year old mind had already absorbed this information, but it did want an explanation._

"_Of course it wasn't," agreed the old man. "It came here very recently."_

"_Why here?" Harry asked, "In an empty field outside Little Whinging?"_

"_It moved by itself," the old man explained. "You called it here."_

"_I did?" Harry wondered. What had been a dire situation had now turned into something very strange, and just a little bit marvelous._

"_Yes. I've come to be your friend, Harry."_

_Harry didn't notice that the man knew his name, without having an introduction. "But why would you want to be my friend?" he asked, puzzled.

* * *

  
_

"Harry," someone said softly, shaking his shoulder, "Harry wake up."

Harry opened his eyes to find Violet standing on the edge of the lower bunk, and holding on to the top bunk and leaning over him. He sat up quickly, and she stepped down. The room was nearly empty, trainees were trailing out.

"Ron went ahead with Bastian," she explained. "It wouldn't do for you to sleep through the first lesson. You don't sleep well, do you?"

Harry gave a non-committal shrug, swung his legs over the side of the wooden bunk and jumped down. The room was nearly devoid of any decorations; Harry got the impression Deeperbourg was a very Spartan place.

"Do you have nightmares?" Violet pried. Harry gave her a puzzled glance. _Why is she asking such personal questions?_

Violet got the point, pressing her lips together. She didn't look embarrassed, just impatient. Still, she was strikingly pretty. Harry tried not to notice. _She's too odd. Besides, she's on Ron's team._

"Hurry up," she said. "We're supposed to wear our running shoes."

Harry pulled off his boots, which he had been sleeping in, and quickly tied up his white running shoes. As soon as he was done Violet walked quickly out the door, and Harry followed.

It was near midday, and the sun had brightened the bleak landscape slightly. Harry could see the other beginner trainees standing in the distance near the edge of the river. As they approached the river, Harry looked at it closer. It was extremely wide, and it also had a strong current. The banks were built of piles of rocks and small pebbles, and the water was a clear-ish blue, reflecting their gray color.

A moment after they had all assembled, Friedenwald apparated in front of them, and without missing a beat, began to speak. "Since we are getting a late start today, the other years decided to leave out their morning exercise, and proceed straight to lessons. However I decided we would start the day as usual, and leave off the challenge. I hope you all have your running shoes on. Today is a partner exercise; I want you to stay with your partner at all times. Follow the river uphill until you find the way to cross. Immediately climb to the top of the ridge and find the tallest tree, loop around it, and return here. This is a race. I don't want anyone to use their wands. If you break my rules I will know immediately and you will be disqualified. Begin!"

The trainees faltered, still unused to his abrupt manner.

"Go!" he repeated, and they began running. They ran along the side of the river, far enough away to keep out of the shifting pebbles.

It was immediately apparent that the pre-selected had been matched together well. Bastian, with his long legs and athletic body was in the front of the pack immediately, but Harry was a good runner and matched him stride for stride. Ron was tall as well, but wasn't as coordinated, and quick Violet was right at his heels. The three teams began to separate, and as the path hit the beginning of the forest and they had to run around trees, they lost sight of each other.

The uphill run was hard, especially over the rocky terrain and around the tree trunks. Bastian and Harry were soon breathing hard, but they kept their strides consistent. Beside them, the river crashed over rapids, and the sunlight flickered like a strobe light between the trees. The forest was comprised of a variety of tree types, some of them pines and some of them with tall trunks that didn't have branches until very high.

Harry had to keep his eyes down to find safe ground to step on, and glanced up constantly to avoid running into trees. It became easier once they cleared the trees and came out into a flatter, firmer ground. The other two teams were nowhere to be seen.

Harry kept his eyes low, and noticed something strange. The sun was behind them, and their shadows stretched on the ground before them, but Harry's shadow was no longer touching his feet. It was slowing gaining distance, running faster than him.

_Not again!_ Harry thought, glancing at Bastian, but Bastian was trying to shake the sweat out of his eyes and hadn't noticed. Harry sped up, catching up to his shadow. Bastian glanced at him, surprised by the change in pace, but lengthened his stride to keep up. Harry's shadow ran faster, and he had to match it. Then his shadow started waving its arms. _It's mocking me, _Harry thought.

"What do you think we're looking for?" Harry asked, trying to distract Bastian, "A bridge, a stone path crossing?"

They slowed to a stop. To Harry's relief, his shadow stayed appropriately in place.

"This isn't right, is it?" Bastian asked.

"No," Harry agreed, looking ahead as far as he could see, "He never said there would be a bridge. He said 'find the way to cross'."

They both looked at the river.

"Yes?" Bastian asked, and Harry nodded. Bastian took off his shoes and tied the laces to each other, hanging them over his neck. Harry followed suit, and they both stepped cautiously into the water. It was freezing cold, and the current pulled at them immediately.

Bastian moved ahead. "If you think you're about to get swept away," he said over his shoulder, "Just yell."

For some time, the water was just deep enough that they could tiptoe along the rocks on the bottom, feeling their way with their toes. Harry felt all kinds of moss and slime, and occasionally something brushed by him, like a large fish. Harry had to tilt his head back to keep his mouth above the murky water; Bastian had an easier time of it. At least until they got to the middle, where the bottom dropped away. They swam quickly across, pulled sideways in the current and very aware of the rapids below them. Bastian found the river bottom first, and Harry, being shorter, was almost pulled downstream. Bastian reached out quickly and their wet hands grasped each other. Bastian managed to pull him a few steps until Harry found a foot-hold. They got out, up, and off the other bank as quickly as possible, and quickly laced back up their shoes.

"I wonder how long it took the others to figure that out," Harry panted. "We could be far behind." He knew it was just an exercise, but he felt the need to do well on his first day.

"Or maybe they found a bridge, or underground tunnel," Bastian added, getting to his feet. "Let's go."

Shoes squelching, they ran uphill again, through the trees. Soon it became steep, and they were scrambling up, dust and rocks sliding out from beneath them and trickling down behind them. Finally they reached a ledge, beyond which was a sheer cliff.

"Wonderful," Bastian said.

"I'm just glad I got a nap before this," Harry replied, rubbing his scraped palms on his pants to get the dust off them. Bastian did the same, but then they had to wait for their hands to dry. Both of them were wet and filthy, their uniforms covered in streaks of mud and their shoes were barely discernable as once having been white.

Harry tentatively dug his fingertips into the side of the cliff, and looking down, found himself a foothold. "If we slip and fall back onto the ledge, it's not far enough to seriously hurt us," Harry said optimistically, but then added, "I think."

Bastian chuckled. "Well don't fall, you'll probably take me down with you."

Harry began to scale the craggy wall, handhold by handhold and foothold by foothold. "Are we having fun yet?" he asked.

"Are you kidding me? This is like baking cupcakes," Bastian said as he began to follow, "And remember this is just the first day."

Harry wanted to reply, 'Thanks for reminding me' but it came out as a grunt of effort, and he focused on the task at hand. He was lighter, and good at finding footholds. Luckily he'd recently learned a spell that kept his glasses in place, combined with spells Hermione had set to them that kept them clean they weren't a problem. The dust flaked right off them. Bastian was heavier but had a longer reach, and could get to larger handholds that were too far for Harry. By the time they reached the top of the hill the muscles in Harry's arms were screaming.

They took a much needed moment to rest at the top of the hill.

"How do we find the tallest tree?" Bastian wondered, looking up at the trees ahead of them. Behind them they could see the top of Deeperbourg over the forest, far away.

"I don't know," Harry said tiredly, "Lets go this way."

They headed back towards the fort, which was on their left, on the other side of the river that was hidden by trees. They tried to see which tree was the tallest, but from below they all looked the same. Finally Harry found two trees that had grown close together, and wedged himself between them, slowly pushing and climbing his way up until he got to some sturdy braches.

From this viewpoint, it became immediately obvious one tree was much larger than the others. Harry could also see the edge of the cliff, which dipped in a sort of V, pointing directly at the tree. He slid back down between the two trees, tearing the leg of his pants on the rough bark.

"Found it," Harry told Bastian.

"Can you find it from down here?" Bastian asked.

Harry nodded. "Follow the cliff."

Less than five minutes later, the cliff edge began to dip in, and eventually it came to a sharp inner point. The tree there was massive, too large for them to reach around if they were to try to hold hands around it. They circled the tree, and came back to the point of the cliff. Here the way down was still very steep, but sloped. The earth would have been too loose to climb up, but here they slid down one after other in a rain of dirt and pebbles.

Doggedly, they ran through the forest, keeping the roof of Deeperbourg directly in front of them. They got closer, and the river could be heard up ahead. Sensing the end of their ordeal, they both sped up, finally breaking through the line of the trees and emerging onto the bank of the river.

Friedenwald waited on the other side of the river, and next to him Jack and Neville dangled their bare feet into the water, relaxing.

Harry sighed, and Bastian shrugged at him. At a more leisurely pace, they stepped into the water, not bothering to take their shoes off. The river was shallower here, going midway up Harry's chest at the deepest point.

They sat down heavily. Harry let out a deep breath, and prepared to wait a while, but scant minutes later the last team appeared. Violet emerged from the at forest at a brisk but casual pace, and slipped through the water like an undine. Ron followed a few feet behind, looking like he'd been dragged behind a team of horses. It almost appeared as if he'd gotten a black eye, somewhere.

After crossing the river, they joined the others. Violet managed to look like she meant to be filthy, and her dirty appearance only made her eyes blaze brighter. Ron quickly sat down.

"Nice work," Friedenwald said and grinned. "We do that one with all the new trainees. Some people follow the river all the way back to the mountains before it occurs to them to swim across." He looked over them. "Longbottom and Medoway take first place. Medoway immediately realized the take on my words, and they let the other two teams outdistance them before crossing the river. The river gets rougher the farther you go, so they had the easiest, shallowest crossing. From that part of the river, you can clearly see the tallest tree on the ridge. It took them longer to climb it than the others, but they still returned first. "

Neville and Jack shared happy smiles.

"Akhart and Potter come in second place," Friedenwald continued. "They were the second team to cross the river, though they had also run the furthest when they did it. Impressive that they didn't get swept into the rapids, I would have had to rescue them and their team would have been disqualified. They scaled the cliff quickly, but unfortunately in the interest of time they didn't follow the ridge to find an easier place to climb, which was nearby. Harry climbed a tree to find the turning point, which worked nicely. They finished in second place, even though they crossed the most distance. They arrived soon after Medoway/Longbottom."

Harry felt a little dumb; it seemed so simple in hindsight. _It was a race, _he told himself; _we weren't thinking things through. _

"And lastly, Weasley and Zais," Friedenwald said, turning his eyes to Ron and Violet. "Last place in this particular running, but not a bad effort. They ran slower than Potter/Akhart, and took slightly longer to cross the river. However, they made up in time by finding an easy place to cross, a low dip in the cliff and heading in almost a beeline for the tallest tree. They arrived back here shortly after Potter/Akhart."

Ron looked embarrassed, bothered by coming in last. Violet looked apathetic. If she cared, it wasn't showing.

"I want you to go back to the barracks, take a shower, and change into your spare uniform. Leave your dirty laundry in a pile at the foot of your bunk, as well as your shoes. Once you're done I will give you further instructions." Again, Friedenwald disappeared.

"Does he _always _do that?" Ron asked exasperatedly.


	3. The Voices

The Dark Legacy

Chapter Three: The Voices

* * *

As they dragged their sorry selves back into the barracks, the older trainees were already waiting for them.

"Back already?" someone asked. "I didn't make it back before dark, my first day."

There were large warm towels at the foot of each bunk, and the first year trainees wrapped themselves up and let their dirty uniforms fall to the ground. Across the hall were the boys' and girls' bathrooms. The boys bathroom was simple, all tiled in a white/gray checker pattern, and there was a row of showers separated by thin shower curtains. Harry scrubbed himself clean, trying to get the river sludge out from between his toes and the mud out of his hair.

_I wonder if every day will be like this, _Harry thought.

When they returned to the barracks, dressed in their second uniforms, they found that the dirty clothes had been removed and there was a neatly folded uniform on each bed. They slid into their boots and went to get a late lunch in the cafeteria. The cafeteria was upstairs, and you needed to take the outside stairs to get there. Unlike Hogwarts, there was no separation of teams, nor were they separated by years, as there were two long wooden tables where everybody could mingle. Deeperbourg was a simple place.

Harry and Ron sat together at the end of one table alone, and near the middle of the same table sat the other four. Neville and Jack seemed charmed by Bastian, who kept up a steady stream of conversation, and Violet was silent. Ron kept his eyes on his plate, and Harry could hear him grumble now and then.

After their meal of an unidentifiable meat with potatoes, Friedenwald showed up (thorough the door this time) to collect them. The first part of their evening lesson was a tour of Deeperbourg. Deeperbourg was separated into three parts, each which had were accessed from outside. Friedenwald told them there were passageways between them, but they weren't revealed to the trainees unless it was necessary. They didn't want the trainees to know how to get into the instructors rooms.

One section of Deeperbourg was for the trainees, with the Barracks, bathrooms, and their cafeteria and kitchens. The second section, which was off limits to trainees, was the instructors' quarters and kitchens. The third section was all classrooms and storage. It was in one of these classrooms that they sat and heard the history of Deeperbourg, taking notes in case they would be tested on it.

By then the sun had set, they had a small dinner and went to bed. By then, Harry was dead tired and thought he would fall immediately into a deep, dreamless sleep. He fell asleep quickly, but unfortunately it wasn't dreamless.

* * *

_There was a flash of silver light, and once again Harry found himself seven years old. Time had passed, the sun was shining through the open door and he was wearing different oversized secondhand clothes. The old man was sitting in his armchair, and there was something about him different as well, something Harry couldn't quite put his finger on. _

_Harry sat on the floor, his back to the sun. "Magic is real," he said, in the way of someone who had been repeating something incredulously for some time. "Magic is real," he said again, then a dawning look of realization came to his face, and he looked back at the old man. "… Can you teach me?" _

_The old man smiled slightly, pleased. "Yes." He nodded to the open door. "That's why I have come. You showed an enormous aptitude for magic the other night. Dark magic."_

_Harry's smile faltered. "Dark magic?" he asked, "What's that? It doesn't sound very nice."_

"_Wizards give the name dark magic to anything that frightens them," the old man explained soothingly. "It isn't inherently bad; it's just a tool like anything else. It deals with people more than other kinds of magic, and can be easily misused. Ethical boundaries must be observed." He showed his white teeth in a smile, "Though there are always exceptions."_

"_What's your name?" Harry asked. _

"_They call me Araeva."_

"_Where do you come from?"_

_Araeva looked amused. "That is a complex question. Maybe one day I will answer it for you."_

"_Why do you want to teach me magic?"_

"_Oh, you will need it one day," Araeva said confidently. "There is a certain person, who was once a young man but now is a murderer. When he was a young man, he came to be my apprentice. When he thought I had taught him everything I knew, he tried to kill me. He thought he'd succeeded, and left to wreck havoc in the world. However, he didn't know my true identity. I cannot be killed quite so easily. Nor did I teach him even a fraction of everything I know. He thinks he is all powerful."_

_Harry listened, intrigued. "What are you going to do?"_

"_My own personal brand of revenge," was all Araeva revealed. _

_There was another flash of silver light, and Harry found himself on a different day in front of the hut, early in the morning. He had snuck away again, to visit Araeva. Araeva had the most fascinating stories to tell Harry, about dark creatures and wands and secret magical worlds of wizards. _

"_Today I'll start teaching you magic," Araeva said. This time Harry realized what was changing about the old wizard— he seemed to be getting younger. This didn't seem to bother seven-year-old Harry at all. _

"_Can I learn how to fly?" Harry asked, since this is what he most wanted to know. _

"_One day you will fly," Araeva said. "One day you will be able to transport yourself from one place to another instantly, but that won't be for a few years yet. Let's start with wand magic." He pulled two wands out of his sleeve, handing one to young Harry._

_The sleeping, observant part of Harry had a jolt— it was his wand, the one that was tucked into the side pocket of his uniform beside his bed as he slept. He calmed himself after a moment; it was only a dream after all. Anything could happen in dreams. _

"_Wand magic is the most common," Araeva told him, "Because it is the easiest. We will start with some simple dark magic spells."_

"_Why dark magic?" Harry asked curiously, holding the wand tentatively in his hand._

"_Regular spells you can learn from anyone," Araeva told him. "As my apprentice, you will learn spells that are rare, and some that have long been forgotten. Trust me, one day you will need them."_

"_Am I your apprentice?" young Harry asked, thrilled. "I won't try to kill you, I promise." He shook his head solemnly._

"_I'm pleased to hear it," Araeva said. "Now let's begin."

* * *

  
_

Harry woke abruptly, disoriented. He lay still for a moment, trying to get his bearings. The Barracks were dark and filled with soft snores; he had awoken much too early, after only a few hours of sleep.

What he found so disorienting was fuzziness to his thoughts, almost as if they were overlapping. Every few seconds he had to clear his head, he felt as if it were filled with soft murmuring and blurry images. It sounded like there were many voices whispering in his ear; it made him tense.

Harry rolled up onto an elbow to look around. On the next bunk, Violet was awake as well and sitting up, leaning against the legs with her legs crossed. She had a book of some sort open on her lap and a self-inking quill, though how she was writing in the darkness Harry couldn't guess.

Violet gave him a look of alarm.

Harry frowned, had he caught her doing something wrong? He didn't think so. Slowly, he lay back down and closed his eyes, but he thought he could feel her looking at him.

_Why does she do that? Why am I having these dreams? What's going on with my head? Something is wrong with me, _Harry decided. _Who do I talk to about it? Not her, that's for sure. _

"Are you okay?" Violet whispered.

_I didn't show outwardly that I wasn't okay, did I? _"I…" Harry cleared his throat. "I'm fine?" He didn't sound sure. "I'm fine," he tried again, with more confidence.

He didn't look at her, but he could tell by her silence that she was skeptical. _I'm fine, I'm just going insane, _Harry thought experimentally. _My shadow is running away and I'm hearing voices._

His thoughts turned to his dreams. They felt like re-lived memories, but he couldn't ever remember having met someone like Araeva. Besides, his wand had either not been made yet, or was sitting somewhere in Ollivander's shop at the time.

Then he had a horrible thought: _Somebody is doing this to me, trying to make me think I'm crazy. How are they doing it, some kind of hallucinogenic drugs? I've been having that weird dream on and off for months, how did they get into my food at home and here? No, it's got to be dark magic or some kind. Who would do that?_

Harry opened his eyes slightly, shifting them over to his left to where he could see Violet's silhouette in the dark room. _She has been acting suspiciously… but I only met her yesterday._

Harry ran theories through his head until he drifted back into a more restive sleep. He woke up a few hours later as the sun rose, and the other trainees slowly began to get up. Violet was innocently sleeping, with her back to him.

The murmuring voices continued to plague him, but after getting that bit of sleep he seemed able to push them aside.

In the morning they went for another run, this time without crossing the river. Instead they followed the river in the other directions and looped to the left, back around to the fort. They weren't ordered to run together, but Harry and Bastian kept together in the lead, and Neville and Jack jogged doggedly together in the rear. Between them Ron ran like he was trying to outrun the devil, and Violet loped along casually behind him. Harry thought she might be enjoying herself, just a little.

After that they had their first class of 'Investigation and Logic Skills' which Harry thought was something Hermione would enjoy, but he didn't find particularly stimulating. Friedenwald had the tendency to talk calmly, and then without warning shout something for emphasis. It made them jumpy, and made class rather suspenseful.

During lunch, Harry finally got a chance to talk to Ron. Sitting alone at the end of their table, Harry leaned over their food and said carefully, "I'm not doing so well, Ron." The murmuring voices had become harder to block all day, and by then he had a pounding headache.

"Tell me about it," Ron said. "This wasn't what I expected at all!"

"No," Harry tried to clarify, "I mean something is really wrong with me."

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, putting down his fork.

Harry paused, suddenly embarrassed. "I can't sleep, I keep having these crazy dreams and…" he wasn't sure whether he wanted to continue, about his shadow and the voices.

"What kind of dreams?"

"About dark magic," Harry said truthfully. "There's an old man— a teacher of dark magic, and an apprentice."

Ron looked perplexed, but interested. "Hey, you think you're somehow tuning into the new Dark Lord like you did with Voldemort? Bastian says that when the current Dark Lord dies, there's some kind of energy transfer to the new one."

_I wonder if that's something they teach at Durmstrang, _Harry thought.

"I don't know, that doesn't really make any sense," Harry told Ron.

Ron shrugged. "You could tell one of the instructors, maybe get a sleeping drought."

The only instructor Harry knew was Friedenwald, who wasn't exactly the sympathetic type. _He'd more likely decide the pressure is getting to me and kick me out, _Harry feared. _I can't let him think I can't keep up with the others. Wouldn't the newspapers love that? 'Harry Potter dropped from Auror Training, buy one today'. _

"Maybe someone is pulling a prank on me," Harry suggested.

Ron's eyes brightened. "Dark magic! I'll bet that it's Violet!"

"Why would you say that?" Harry asked.

"She's insufferable," Ron said with a disgusted face. "I can't even describe to you what yesterday was like. She's so full of herself. I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if she practiced the dark arts. You're lucky, you got Bastian; he's a right good guy."

"What exactly is so terrible about Violet?" Harry asked curiously. They were speaking in low tones, so they wouldn't be overheard.

"We argued the whole time, shouted at each other," Ron said, "She doesn't want to hear any of my ideas, she either orders me around or ignores me completely. So I point out the way she treats me, and she gets offended!" Ron shook his head.

Since Ron didn't take 'I can't sleep' particularly seriously, especially after everything Harry had been through in the last year, and Harry was reluctant to reveal any more, the conversation ended there.

After lunch they met with Friedenwald. Friedenwald hadn't yet revealed any of his true character to Harry; Harry supposed they would get to know each other over time, since they had three years together. _Maybe he's the kind of person that warms up to you over time, _Harry supposed. In his usual fashion, Friedenwald briskly put down a basket and began handing out strange metal objects.

"This is a magic Chinese puzzle box," he told them. "If you get it open, it will give you a clue to your next challenge. You have the rest of the day. If you don't finish it, you will need to work on it tomorrow along with tomorrow's challenge. Good luck." He gave them a brief smile.

Harry looked down at the object in his hands; it wasn't a simple square box, it had lots of sides. Each facet of the many-sided box had a small circle with an image on it that lay flush to metal. Harry's headache made keeping out the voices impossible, and each screamed at him incessantly. It made him dizzy. _How am I supposed to do this?_

Feeling rather hopeless, Harry handed the puzzle box to Bastian, who winked at him.

"I read about these," he said quietly to Harry. "It will take some work, but at least I know what to do. That will give us an edge; I say we'll have it open in two hours."

The teams separated themselves, now Harry knew why there were so many small workrooms at Deeperbourg. They found one with a view on the lake, and sat down at the table.

The puzzle box was very complex; you had to look at each symbol and guess the spell you had to cast to unlock that circle. According to Bastian, if you unlocked a ring of circles all the way around the box, it would open. But someone had added a twist. The first circle had a feather on it, and they sent a levitating spell on the box; it didn't levitate, but the circle clicked out slightly, unlocked.

The next image was of a closed eye. "I don't think it wants a certain spell, I think the box will accept any spell that could achieve what's on the image," Bastian reasoned.

"Oh well, that one's easy," Harry said tiredly. "It's a blinding spell— Ocuscuro!" he said, touching his wand to the box.

That unlocked the circle, but then the box suddenly twisted, and the circles weren't lined up anymore. Bastian frowned at the box, and then looked sideways at Harry.

"A sleeping spell would have worked just as well, you know," Bastian told him. "I didn't know you knew any dark arts."

"I don't," Harry said, surprised.

"Blinding spells, even temporary ones, are considered dark spells," Bastian told him, looking at Harry as if he'd learned something interesting.

"Well," Harry said, uncomfortable. "Let's keep going."

They kept unlocking circles, each side took several tries. As soon as the box twisted far enough that they weren't touching anymore, they relocked. They unlocked the circles, but they kept relocking themselves and no progress was made.

After a while, they realized that each circle moved in the same way each time. They found a piece of parchment and noted down which ways the circles moved. It took them several hours, but eventually they found a pattern that resulted in all the unlocked sides lining up in a ring. The puzzle-box clicked open. Inside was a scrap of paper, which Bastian eagerly unrolled. It read, 'Go to the River'.

Bastian decided to keep the scrap of paper, and Harry took the puzzle-box. Harry put it under his arm and went straight back to the Barracks, looking forward to sleep. He got so little of it, he found himself thinking about sleeping almost constantly.

He found he was becoming curious about what he would dream about next. And when he slept, at least the voices would stop murmuring incessantly. He had no idea what they were trying to say, but he wished they would shut up.

Harry found Ron and Violet still puzzling over their box. Ron sat on his bed, and Violet sat on Bastian's, as far away from each other as possible.

"I told you that one wasn't right!" Violet was saying. "Give it back!" Her brow was furrowed and her blue eyes squinted as she glared in her red-haired team member's direction.

"No!" Ron said crossly. "You've had it all this time, let me try at it. We'll be sitting here all night if you keep fumbling with the thing."

Violet let out an exasperated sigh and crossed her arms.

Ron noticed Harry. "You got it open!"

"Don't tell us," Violet said immediately. "Friedenwald will know." Harry shrugged, and hopped onto his bunk. "We'll get it open ourselves… eventually."

"What, I'm going as fast as I can," Ron defended himself.

"I could finish it," she said then shrugged. "Well if guess if you don't care, I don't care either." She climbed onto her top bunk, lying down and closing her eyes with exaggerated indifference.

Down below, Harry could hear Ron trying spells on the puzzle box and swearing under his breath. Eventually there was a long silence. Ron reached up and placed the puzzle box beside Violet, sitting back down on his bed. Without missing a beat Violet sat up and took it into her hands. She pulled out her wand and began casting spells on the box, one after another in rapid succession. The circles clicked around almost too fast for Harry to see, and all of a sudden the box opened.

"How'd you figure that out?" Ron asked, almost belligerently. If Ron would have been able to see, Harry would have sent his friend a warning glance.

_They're both impossible, _He thought.

"By observing," Violet said, pleased with herself, a smug little smile on her lips.

Ron must have realized he had crossed a line because he added in a softer tone, "Thanks. That's a relief."

Violet smirked and tossed a lock of her dark brown hair out of her face. She read the paper inside, then handed the puzzle box back down to Ron. Ron read the paper and exclaimed, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Violet shrugged and didn't answer.

Harry rolled over and fell asleep, and into merciful silence.

* * *

_Author's note: next chapter everything will be explained, I'm sorry if it's boring so far. Should I continue writing? I'm not getting any reviews, so I don't know what to think. _


	4. Inescapable Truths

The Dark Legacy

Chapter Four: Inescapable Truths

* * *

_The dream world was waiting for him. Harry stood in the doorway of Araeva's shack, fully grown and wearing his MOAT uniform, which he'd fallen asleep in. Araeva was waiting for him still holding the jar, which was closed. Araeva was looking younger than ever, closer to age fifty, and had shaved his face. His black eyes gazed expectantly at Harry, who stared expectantly back. _

"_You're making this difficult," Araeva said, raising an eyebrow._

"_What do you want from me? What's happening to me?" Harry demanded. "Are you real?"_

"_That would depend on your definition of real," Araeva said unhelpfully._

"_No philosophical bullshit, please," Harry replied. _

_Araeva laughed. "I knew I would like you." He nodded at chair nearby, and Harry reluctantly slunk to it and took a seat. "To answer your question, yes, I am real. You are not making me up. Your dreams are all real as well. They happened, or are happening."_

"_But I can't remember having met you!" Harry protested. "When I was seven, I lived with my aunt, my uncle, and my cousin, and I was miserable. I wasn't learning dark magic illegally from anybody!"_

"_Were you not?" Araeva asked. He twisted the lid of the jar, which came open noiselessly._

"_Not this again," Harry muttered. Araeva pulled another memory from the jar and held it out to Harry. Harry took it, and was transported.

* * *

  
_

_Harry's younger self was a bit older in this memory, Harry thought he remembered the shirt his younger self was wearing as one he had gotten around the time of his tenth birthday._

_Younger Harry was sitting outside of Araeva's hut, holding his wand confidently, twirling it in his fingers. Araeva approached, Harry looked up and smiled._

"_Come on inside, Harry," Araeva said with familiarity. "I have something to tell you." _

_Younger Harry hopped to his feet and followed him inside immediately. "What is it? Are we traveling somewhere?"_

"_No," Araeva said gently, "I'm leaving."_

_Younger Harry's face fell. "Did I do something wrong?"_

_Araeva shook his head and tousled Harry's hair fondly. "No. But soon other wizards will come looking for you, and I can't be here. Nor can you remember I was here, it will complicate things."_

"_You're going to take my memories?" Younger Harry exclaimed with rising panic. "But I don't want to forget I met you! My life was terrible before I met you!"_

"_It's necessary," Araeva told him. "I'll come back and find you, one day. I'll keep your memories safe and return them to you at that time."_

_Younger Harry sighed. "Will I forget all the magic, too?"_

_Araeva nodded. "It's the only way. You will learn new magic soon." He picked up very familiar jar, now empty, and raised his wand. _

_There was a flash of light, and Younger Harry found himself strolling home, after a day of playing by himself in the empty fields outside of Little Whinging.

* * *

  
_

_This too faded away, and Younger Harry was gone. Grown-up Harry once again sat next to Araeva._

"_You want me to believe that I was your apprentice for three years, and you wiped all those memories from my mind?" Harry asked skeptically; this memory could have been planted._

_Araeva nodded. "You were about to go to Hogwarts, and it would have been immediately obvious that you had already been trained in magic. You would have mentioned me eventually. Dumbledore was aware of me, he would have recognized who I was and what I was up to."_

"_What ARE you up to?" Harry wanted to know. _

"_I've been preparing you," Araeva told him, "I'll explain in a moment. I was just going to let all these memories go and return to you over time, but you were fighting them and making yourself sick, so I had to intervene. I should have known you'd be too headstrong to accept just anything." The old man didn't look annoyed, but rather somewhat pleased._

"_So what now?" _

"_I'll keep sending you your memories, one by one. Just watch and accept them. They are yours, this is fact. Once you have them all, you'll be glad to have them back. You were reluctant to relinquish them in the first place, if you remember."_

_That was true. Harry was beginning to believe what the old man was saying; the memories just seemed so REAL._

"_Today when I was unlocking the puzzle-box, strange spells kept popping into my head," Harry said. "You taught them to me once, didn't you?"_

_Araeva nodded. "You knew dark magic that would make a grown wizard cringe, before you ever set foot into Hogwarts."_

_Harry narrowed his eyes. "So you're a dark wizard, then? What do you want with me?"_

_Araeva grinned, showing his white teeth. "Me? No, Harry, you're the dark wizard!"_

_Harry shook his head._

"_Are you or are you not intimately familiar with the dark arts?" Araeva demanded. "If you're not now, you will be as soon as I release more memories. Some of the things I taught you will just sink back into your mind without you even realizing it. You will find yourself capable of spells that have been extinct for thousands of years, and dark magic people have never even heard of."_

_Harry just shook his head again. "I'm not a dark wizard," he repeated again stubbornly._

_Araeva looked exasperated. "What was the first thing I ever taught you, Harry? Dark magic is a tool just like any else. All the fools in the world can be afraid of it all they want, but not you."_

_Harry was silent for a long moment. "I'll ask you one more time, and if you don't answer me I'm leaving, and I won't listen to you anymore," he said finally, "What do you want from me, and are you responsible for all the other strange stuff going on?"_

_Instead of responding, Araeva touched the tip of his own wand to his head, and pulled a glistening silvery memory free. "You really want to know?"_

_Harry looked at the memory cautiously. "This is the explanation?"_

"_Yes. You'll understand."_

"_Fine," Harry said petulantly, and snatched it up.

* * *

  
_

_The first thing Harry saw was a blur of movement, a flash of light, and a large bang. Then everything stopped. _

_Harry was standing in the Great Hall of Hogwarts. Directly ahead was Voldemort and Harry himself, more than a year ago. It was the last moment of their duel; the exact second Harry had defeated Voldemort. What he had seen when he arrived was their spells colliding, and the Elder Wand rebelling against Voldemort, resulting in his death. _

_But why was everything frozen in place? Harry looked around, looking at the horrified faces of everyone watching, unmoving. They still hadn't yet realized what had happened and they wouldn't for a few more seconds; they expected to see Harry's dead body tumbling to the ground. For a moment Harry relived the emotions of that last duel, and shivered. _

_Something moved behind Harry and he turned head around. Of course— Araeva was approaching. In the true nature of a pensieve memory, Araeva didn't see him. _

_What's Araeva doing? Harry wondered. I don't remember him being here._

_Araeva strode directly up to Voldemort, tapping him on the shoulder. Suddenly there were two Voldemorts, the one still frozen in place, and a ghostly version. The ghostly version stumbled back, looking around in panic._

_That must be Voldemorts soul, or spirit, or ghost or something, Harry decided. _

_Voldemort saw Araeva, and jumped. "Araeva?" he said in surprise, "But I killed you!"_

"_Tom," Araeva greeted him calmly. "I must disagree; you did not." He smiled like a cat with a mouse in it's paws, "Unfortunately for you."_

"_What are you doing? You've stopped the fight!" Voldemort protested angrily, his slithery tongue lisping over the words._

"_This fight is over," Araeva told him. "You died."_

_Voldemort shook his head. "No. It can't be. Not Potter. I defeated him!"_

"_No," Araeva told him firmly. "You didn't. You're dead. Game over."_

_Voldemort looked at Harry, and back at Araeva. "Is he one of yours, too?"_

"_Of course," Araeva said. "I've had this all worked out for years. It's quite embarrassing for you though: he defeated you all on his own. I didn't have to help him out at all. He doesn't even have the benefit of my teaching; I wiped it from his mind years ago. Just so you know, he was a better student than you ever were, and he was only a child at the time. Nor did he ever try to kill me."_

_Voldemort stared at Araeva, stunned by this flood of information. _

"_You were my apprentice," Araeva said. "I could have made you truly great, but you betrayed me. This is my revenge: see your successor. He will have all the power you ever wanted, and didn't achieve. Immortality is in his grasp, if he wants it, it was never in yours. You were weak, and you were exterminated. I pulled you here, to this place between moments, so that you could watch."_

"_NO!" Voldemort screamed._

_Something was happening. A type of dark mist flowed out of the tip of the wand frozen Voldemort was holding, moving toward frozen Harry, where it enveloped him. Frozen Harry was momentarily obscured from view, and then the mist sank into his skin and disappeared. _

_Araeva gasped Voldemort by the neck. "Do you know who I am now?"_

"_Yes," Voldemort said, and let out a sound close to a whimper. Both Araeva and Voldemort disappeared. _

_The memory ended.

* * *

  
_

_Harry was back in the chair, sitting in Araeva's hut. _

"_Wow," he said. "That was really something. Quite satisfying, I must say. I always wondered how Voldemort would react to me defeating him. But who are you? And what was that part with the mist? You said I would understand."_

_Araeva ignored the question about his identity, as Harry had half expected. "The mist was what I call the Dark Legacy."_

"_Explain," Harry said._

"_Since magic began, there has always been dark magic," Araeva began, "And there has always been one Master of the Dark Arts. In the beginning, they taught one apprentice in their lifetime, and when they chose their time to die, the successor would take over. I call these people the Dark Kings. But after a time their role became warped, as did their way of passing on the succession. When one Dark Lord was defeated, the one who killed him would inherit his place. The Dark Lords were never as powerful as the Dark Kings, but what power they had they hoarded and abused. This became the trend for so long, that I decided to intervene and bring about the return of the Dark Kings."_

_Araeva looked thoughtfully out the open door, as if looking back in time. "Tom Riddle was my attempt. That was a mistake, and the result was utter failure. He had the aptitude, so I began teaching him, preparing him to defeat the current Dark Lord and be the first in my new dynasty of Dark Kings. But once I had explained what I was training him to do, he became overambitious and paranoid. He became convinced that since I was more powerful than he, I would either try to take the throne first or take it from him once he had it. He used the killing curse on me at an unexpected moment. I was obliterated, but merely reformed somewhere else. I think it always bothered him that my body disappeared._

"_I was furious. I had offered him my world and everything that was important to me. I've been absorbed in the succession for generations, and he tried to steal it. I had never even told him who the Dark Lord was. Tom knew it had been Grindelwald once. He erroneously thought that Dumbledore had replaced him when he defeated Grindelwald; but Grindelwald was still alive. For years Tom tried to get to Dumbledore, to no avail, and when he finally killed Dumbledore, he expected new power to start coming to him. It didn't, and eventually he tracked the Elder Wand and the Dark Legacy back to Grindelwald. Unlike the Elder Wand, you keep the position Master of the Dark Arts until you die. Tom had been the Dark Lord of the Wizarding World for more than twenty years by the time he became the true Master of the Dark Arts. He barely had time to start assimilating his powers, because he died soon after._

"_You killed him, Harry," Araeva stared piercingly at Harry, "Just as I meant you to do."_

_Harry gasped at this conclusion. "That's what you were 'preparing me' for?! Your Dark Legacy?"_

"_Yes. I'd been traveling the world, looking for a new apprentice. You had defeated Tom once already, when you were one year old, so I kept my eye on you. But it wasn't until you were seven that you showed the talent that I needed. While under duress, you managed to control the minds of your attackers. That's true dark magic. So I came and trained you, hoping you would be the one to defeat Tom and end his wretched life. I wanted you to be prepared to take over the succession. I knew that you were what I had been waiting for; I don't make the same mistake twice."_

_Harry stared at him mutely. He was shaking. _

"_Believe it Harry," Araeva said bluntly. "If you had been unprepared, or had ever seemed unwilling while I was training you, I would have spared you; but you were the perfect candidate. You've started to come into your inheritance already. Your fate was sealed the moment you killed Voldemort. It's what you do with the powers that come to you that will determine what you become… I can help you."_

"_What if I don't want this?" Harry asked. "I was only seven!"_

"_Like I said, you don't have a choice," Araeva told him. "But before you refuse to cooperate, listen to me carefully. Just because you are Tom's successor doesn't mean you have to be anything like him. He went about everything the wrong way. The Dark Kings are supposed to temper the dark arts, keep an eye on them, and give them a measure of control. Aren't you training to become an Auror? Controlling the dark is what you want to do with your life. Here is your perfect opportunity. If not you, it would have been someone else, who may have abused the power like Voldemort did. By staying alive and accepting your new role, you are actually preventing another one like him. If you embrace your new abilities, they will help you."_

"_New abilities?" Harry asked, then added sarcastically, "Do you mean my headaches?"_

"_You're getting headaches because you're once again fighting the inevitable. You're picking up on the thoughts of people around you. You don't have to listen to them, but you can't just block them. Let them run through your head, and practice sorting them out from each other. Soon you'll have enough control to silence them. You'll be able to control the minds you're reading, just like you did when you were seven."_

"_But I don't want to do that!" Harry protested. "I'm not going to control anyone's mind!"_

"_Well if you're attacked, you may find it handy."_

"_What about my shadow? How exactly does that help me?"_

"_Let your shadow go. Shadows are tricky, sometimes they come and go as they will but he's there to help you. If you give him instructions, he can sneak into places you cannot. All you have to do is close your eyes, and you can see everything that he sees," Araeva concluded with, "Oh, and if anybody were to find out what you are, they would misunderstand. The Dark Lords have reigned for so long; the time of the Dark Kings has been completely forgotten. Not only will people try to get rid of you, thinking you will become the next Voldemort, but you will get other people who know about the Dark Legacy trying to take your place. There are not many of them, but some old families pass down secrets like that, generation after generation. Now it's time for you to wake up. Things will be easier for you now that you know."_

"_But what does a Dark King do?" Harry asked quickly._

"_Next time," Araeva said with finality.

* * *

  
_

Harry woke up.

It was still fairly early, but he wasn't tired and surprisingly he felt better than he had in weeks. Harry wasn't surprised to see Violet's bunk was empty, she was no where to be seen.

Harry could hear the murmuring voices of the sleeping trainees dreaming, and he stood up and slipped outside to find some peace.

He enjoyed his solitary moment, sitting down on one of the stone steps. It was cold, and he hugged himself to stay warm. The sun would be rising soon; there was a slight orange glow behind the horizon. It was beautiful, and for a few seconds Harry let all of his worries drain from his mind and enjoyed it.

_I have a lot to think about, I need time to get used to this, _he thought. _Who is Araeva? He's been around for generations, since the old Dark Kings he said. I got the feeling that he'd been around even longer than that… nobody survives that long. _Harry decided not to waste time making theories, Araeva had said he might tell him someday.

_I believe him, I have to. Things have been too strange lately, and this is as good an explanation as any. _


	5. The Dark Kings

The Dark Legacy

Chapter Five: The Dark Kings

* * *

By the time everyone else had stood up, Harry had his head on straight and was calm. He took a cold shower and changed into a clean uniform, one he hadn't slept in. He was ready and wearing his running shoes when they all met outside.

Yesterday had been a manageable, easy run. So naturally today they had to run the same route three times. They had plenty of time to do it, it wasn't a race, nor did they have to stay in their teams.

Bastian and Harry were done first as usual, and had some time to relax until everyone was done running. It took up the first half of the morning, and Harry thought it was relaxing. When he ran, he didn't have to think or do anything but move his feet.

When everyone was done and had had a couple minutes to catch their breath Friedenwald called them together.

"It has been brought to my attention," here Friedenwald glanced at Ron, "That one of our teams is not working out at all, nor will it in the conceivable future."

Violet gave Ron an inquisitive look, and he looked away, embarrassed.

"Normally I don't allow team switching until the end of the year, but since this is only our third day I thought I would make an exception. The only thing I need is the consent from another team."

Violet looked thrilled.

Neville was immediately shaking his head. "Not us. We're fine, thanks."

Jack usually said very little, but she spoke up as well. "I don't want to switch either."

"I'll do it," Harry said, looking at Bastian.

Bastian looked reluctant, and a muscle in his cheek twitched._ He probably just wants to win more challenges, and we work well together. I have no complaints about him myself, he's been helpful._

"I don't really want to switch either," Harry said in a quiet voice. "But we have to put those two out of their misery. They're biting each other's heads off."

Bastian finally nodded. Ron grinned.

"So the teams are now Ron and Bastian, and Harry and Violet," Friedenwald decided. "And no more switching!"

Ron stepped up to Harry and Bastian. He winced at Harry. "That wasn't what I wanted… I thought we'd finally be a team again, like old times. I didn't expect you'd get stuck with her."

"That's fine," Harry said quickly, but his stomach sunk a little.

"Ahem," Violet said from behind Ron, giving him a cutting look. "I'm not as bad as he says, you know," she told Harry, then whirled around and swiftly departed.

Bastian and Harry just shrugged at each other.

Next they had their first day of Concealment and Disguise, which Harry was excited about. Tonks had mentioned it, as her best class. So when he found a desk and sat down (they were always arranged haphazardly in the various classrooms) it was with mixed feelings. He was interested in the class, but he was overcome with nostalgia in remembrance of Remus and Tonks.

A moment later the chair beside him moved and Violet slipped into it. She flashed him a quick, white smile. "Figured we ought to get to know each other," she said. "This is my specialty, you know."

"Oh?" said Harry, sitting up and looking at her with interest. "Are you a metamorphmagus?"

She blinked at him in surprise. "No, my talents lie in the opposite direction. Kind of anti-concealment and disguise."

"Oh."

"Why? Do you know any metamorphmagi?" She asked curiously.

"I did," Harry said, feeling sad. "She died in… you know…"

"So that's why you're looking low," Violet pulled out her notebook and self-inking quill. "I had wondered."

"Do you notice everything?" Harry asked slightly sarcastically.

"Yes," Violet replied immediately.

It was an interesting class, for that day they covered many way of concealing hidden objects or doorways, some of which Harry knew and many which he didn't.

By the time they got to lunch they were already wondering about the day's challenge, and they all sat together. Jack and Neville hadn't been able to get their puzzle-box open, and had been up late working on it.

"One of the second years told me he got the puzzle-boxes near the end of last year," Neville revealed, "And that nobody had it open by the next day, it took them most of the week. He's convinced both of your teams cheated somehow."

"Well," Bastian said. "I read a magazine article about them about half a year ago. I don't see how that's cheating."

Harry and Ron glanced at Violet, who just shrugged. "How can you cheat with one of those?" she asked, which Harry thought wasn't really answering the question.

"That's what I said," Neville agreed.

They met outside again for their challenge, standing in pairs. Harry felt strange paired with Violet, he had gotten used to Bastian.

_That's kind of ironic_, Harry realized. _I just found out I'm the successor to the Dark Lord, but I'm still thrown off balance by something as trivial as who I'm standing with. _

Friedenwald spread out the three teams, bringing them to different areas of the landscape and leaving them there, out of sight of each other. He left Harry and Violet somewhere in the forest on a small, rarely used path. He explained to them that they were to wait until they saw him set off sparks, and then they would return to the fort. The problem was the way back was set with booby traps and pitfalls, which Friedenwald would set once he was out of the way.

They waited in awkward silence for a few minutes, until they saw sparks fly into the sky above the trees, from the direction of the fort.

Harry pulled out his wand and cast a spell to reveal traps. The traps should have glowed, but they didn't; they were blanketed with spells that would keep them invisible even to magic. It was a concealment spell they had heard about that day in class, it was said to be impenetrable to magic spells.

"Well," Harry said, "I guess we should 'go to the river'. That's what the clue said."

"Did it?" Violet asked. "Ours said 'find something gray'."

"Well that's easy," Harry said. "What's gray and by the river? Rocks."

Violet nodded. "When we combine our clues it's kind of obvious, isn't it? I don't think we were meant to get those puzzle boxes open at all."

The two of them turned and headed in the opposite direction of the fort, back tracking to the river. They certainly wouldn't have gone that way if they hadn't gotten the clues. Once at the river, Harry and Violet filled their deep cloak pockets with small pebbles and rocks.

"Maybe it's a joke," Violet suggested. "Wouldn't Friedenwald get a kick out of making us walk all the way back to the fort lugging rocks for no reason?"

"He probably would," Harry agreed, "But let's take them anyway."

They walked back to their starting point, and Violet threw a rock toward the center of their path. There was a mild explosion, and for a moment dust filled they air. It took a minute for the dust to settle and for them to stop coughing.

"Well that's nasty," Harry commented. "At least we have a strategy. Magic may not reveal the traps but ordinary rocks will do the trick."

"They didn't mention that in class," Violet said, "They probably figured we'd learn it better out here." Without discussion, Violet stepped over the defused trap, and took the lead. She walked confidently down the small forest path, throwing rocks every couple feet and defusing traps, which came in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Sometimes they were explosions, disorientation spells, or holes in the ground. All of them would have been pretty nasty if they'd stepped on one. One time even a large bear crashed through the underbrush towards them, which they chased away using some quick wandwork. It wasn't clear whether the bear was a trap, or merely incidental.

It seemed almost too easy. Harry watched Violet suspiciously: she seemed to know exactly where each trap was. He would have been throwing rocks everywhere, but she was so damned confident.

When she ran out of rocks, Harry handed her more, letting her lead the way.

They came traipsing out of the woods casually a short time later, and headed to where their instructor was waiting. Friedenwald looked at them incredulously, squinting his eyes.

They must have looked innocent enough, because eventually he accepted it. "Very well," he said, and stepped aside.

"Let's go to the Library," Violet suggested and they neared the fort.

Harry considered. Being partners seemed to mean they were automatic friends. She didn't seem anything like what Ron had described. "Sure," he said.

They hadn't been to the Library yet, but it was easy to find. It was smaller than the Hogwarts library, the books were specialized. It was underground, beneath the fort, and only the worktables were brightly lit. To find a book, it helped to light your wand while you walked the aisles, so the shadier parts of the library were lit by a few floating lights.

There was a pile of books deserted on a worktable, and Harry flipped through the pile, not seeing anything interesting. "So, what Wizarding school did you go to?" he asked Violet, who sat across from him.

"Didn't," she said. "I was home-schooled by my aunt. I grew up in Spain."

"Oh. Why did you come back to Britain?"

"Because I wanted to become an Auror," she said matter-of-factly.

"Or course."

"You want to know the truth?" Violet said, leaning forward over the table and smiling gleefully. "My grandmother would kill me if she knew I was talking about it."

"Sure."

"The Zais used to be one of the prominent pureblood families, but you probably haven't heard about us," she said revealingly. "That's because back in Grindelwald's time, my grand-uncle was one of Grindelwald's supporters. The Minister of Magic was actively protecting muggles, and so my grand-uncle broke through the protective spells on his house, and got him with the death curse."

Harry raised his eyebrows.

"My family was so disgraced, they practically fled to Spain, hoping we could leave for a couple generations and everyone would forget about us. If I hadn't shown interest in being an Auror, I'd be there still. My grandmother, who's the matriarch and tell us what to do all the time, told me I was allowed to come. She hopes that producing an Auror will bring us back into good graces."

"That's really interesting," Harry said. He was wondering whether her family was one of the generally muggle-hating kind, but that wasn't a question that could be asked casually. _At least they were embarrassed enough to run away, that says something._

Violet leaned back in her chair, folding her arms, still smiling.

"So what happened with you and Ron, anyway?" Harry asked.

Violet pressed her lips together, a now familiar expression. "Personality clash." She looked thoughtfully down at her hands for a few moments before adding, "I'm a little arrogant, by nature. Sometimes I come across as a real bitch, and I know it. Usually I can temper my words and my attitude. But something about that one happened to bring out the worst in me."

"Well, that was honest," Harry said sympathetically, and they lapsed into silence. Violet seemed suddenly uncomfortable, she picked up a book and flipped through it.

In the sudden silence and lack of distractions, the murmuring voices seemed louder. Harry tried to block them, and picked up a book to distract himself.

After a few minutes, Harry sighed. _Very well, Araeva. I will try it your way._

He sat very still, and listened very carefully. For some time the murmuring continued, but eventually, if he tried to focus on one voice at a time, they began to separate.

"_I've looked on every shelf on this aisle…"_

"_I wonder what she really thinks about me?"_

"…_somebody must have taken it again!"_

Some voices were clearer than others; all he got from Violet was a soft murmur. He could tell she was there, but as for what she was thinking, he had no clue.

People in the library weren't thinking particularly interesting things, but Harry let them talk on. He didn't want to know their secrets, anyway. If anyone began thinking anything too personal, he moved on to another person. Nor did everyone seem to be within his range.

Harry glanced over at Violet. She had stopped reading, but was watching him over the top of her book. She held his gaze for a second, and then looked down.

"Why do you always do that?" Harry asked her.

She looked at him questioningly.

"Watch me," he clarified.

"I find you interesting," she said with a half shrug. "I'm still trying to figure you out."

"What is there to figure out?"

Violet sighed, closing her book. "I have to meet someone." She put the book down on the table and got to her feet. "I look forward to working with you and getting to know you. Let's just leave it at that, okay?"

She left; leaving Harry wonder if he'd offended her in some way. _Who does she have to meet? _Harry wondered, and was tempted to follow her. He finally decided to let her go, and returned to practicing his mind-reading, as if it were something he did every day.

He didn't see her at dinner, which was about the time the other two teams returned from their challenge. She showed back up again nonchalantly just before lights out.

That night, as promised, Harry received another visit from Araeva.

* * *

_Araeva had his usual expression: calm, yet somehow sly. He looked much the same as Harry had seen him the night before; perhaps he'd lost a little more age._

"_Why are you always getting younger?" Harry asked, sitting back down in his chair. _

"_Well staying one age altogether is difficult," Araeva explained, "When you get to be my age, going back and forth a little bit is more comfortable."_

_Harry rolled his eyes, just slightly. "Typical Araeva answer," he said, though he found he didn't mind. The old man didn't seem to have any malicious intent, although harmless he was not. Harry knew to be slightly wary after the scene he had watched with Voldemort. _

"_So, where were we before we were rudely interrupted by the real world?" Araeva asked. "Oh yes. The Dark Kings."_

"_Who were they? What did they do?"_

"_They're your ancestors, whether or not you are blood related. They came before you, and their ways were lost a very long time ago, when the first Dark Lord killed a Dark King and used his power for his own gain. The world hasn't seen a Dark King in a very long time Harry. They're quite thrilled about you."_

"_What? Aren't they dead?"_

"_Of course they're dead," Araeva said. "But death means very little. People rarely understand that."_

"_They can see me?"_

"_Yes. They're watching you. Not all the time of course, they only really watch if you're doing something interesting, like using your powers. But they understandably want to get to know you. If you listen, you can hear them too. If you ever need help, just ask for it."_

_Harry shook his head. "What am I getting into?"_

"_You're getting into a lifetime commitment of responsibility, while trying to keep it a secret so everyone doesn't want to kill you."_

"_Sure, when I ask you a real question you give me you tell me nothing I can understand, but if I ask a hypothetical question you go into detail," Harry said with a grim smile._

"_Lighten up. I already told you, we're here to help."_

"_Help me do what? What is it exactly that I'm supposed to do?"_

"_Nothing really, yet," Araeva reassured him. "Finish your Auror training, practice with the power that comes with being a Dark King. When you're ready you'll go out and work as an Auror, and you'll be excellent since you were born to do it, and I trained you myself. You will know more about the dark arts than any Auror has before, which means you will best know how to deal with it. This is what the old Dark Kings did; they watched over all use of dark magic, in order to keep a balance. Other magic comes in and out of the world without harming anyone, but the dark magic that enters the world has to be regulated. Humans can easily become overwhelmed by it. This is inevitable sometimes, but with the Dark Lords we came into a time of countless lost souls. One day you will understand better, it's hard to explain like this, using words."_

"_Just curious, what other abilities will I get?" Harry wondered. "I can barely handle the ones I've got already."_

"_Harry, if I told you everything, then life would have no suspense, would it?"_


	6. Violet's Secret

The Dark Legacy

Chapter Six: Violet's Secret

* * *

After breakfast the trainees started their day with the usual run. Harry and Bastian still ran together like old times, sharing an easy companionship. After their run they trotted inside to get some water, greeted warmly by everybody they passed. Most people at Deeperbourg treated Harry with a little awe, but plenty of respect. Bastian, who was handsome and friendly, was well liked by everybody he came into contact with, and he seemed to have come in contact with just about everyone at the fort in the few days he'd been there.

That morning, Violet treated Harry with silent indifference. However, at the day's class, Essential Potions, she appeared in the seat next to him and greeted him with a small smile.

The class was plenty challenging. It assumed you had mastered everything you had learned in Potions class before this point, at your previous school (or home school). It jumped straight into advanced theory, and everyone was taking frantic notes the first half of class. Then Friedenwald gave them a demonstration, and they sat back and relaxed. Harry saw that Violet was paying close attention, and since he could always pick her brain during the challenge later he let his mind wander.

Violet's thoughts were, as yesterday, very quiet. She seemed to be a very contained person. If he listened very carefully and blocked everything out, he could just barely hear her. In her mind she was echoing things Friedenwald was saying, committing them to memory.

Harry moved on to Bastian, skipping Neville and Jack. Neville and Jack were a quiet presence; they were also paying close attention to the demonstration.

Bastian was a complicated person. His thoughts had a slightly fuzzy edge to them, which Harry hadn't yet encountered, and he didn't know what it meant. With Bastian, Harry caught about every third word.

"_Go…then. How… not… done? Am…sure."_

This made no sense to Harry. He moved on, trickling by Ron's mind for the first time, but he immediately withdrew almost vehemently. Ron was having a very vivid fantasy about snogging Hermione. Harry thought he felt his face turn red, and sneaked a peak at Violet to see if she'd noticed. She glanced back at him out of the corner of her eye and took some more notes.

She sat on one side of him during lunch, and Ron sat on the other, and the two pointedly ignored each other. Ron talked deliberately at Harry, and Violet just delicately ate her food, in the self-assured way she did everything. Harry found this being in between business wearying.

Harry found the instructions to their challenge, which were neatly written on a piece of parchment, completely confusing. It was a list of directions, and seemed to be about altering an already completed potion to do something else. However it was written in shorthand potions terminology, which was almost a code in itself.

"To be honest, I have no idea what any of this means," Harry told Violet.

She held the directions in her hand and looked over them, and then at Harry with a critical eye. "Very well," she said and headed briskly for the potions storeroom.

Harry trailed behind her, accepting the cauldron she handed to him. She then filled it with various ingredients in packets and small bottles, consulting her list occasionally. They then went in search of a workroom. Unfortunately, it seemed all of the students were working inside today, and the workrooms were packed. Finally Violet discovered a small empty room at the end of the hall, shaped like an asymmetrical triangle; it seemed to have been built as an afterthought. It had one small window and no furniture.

Violet shrugged and nodded at the floor, where Harry carefully set down the cauldron, trying not to jostle the bottles inside. Together they unpacked the ingredients, and Violet lined them up in a row, putting them in a particular order.

"Obsessive compulsive much?" Harry asked.

Violet looked at him sharply, but then realized he was teasing her. "I like being able to find things," she replied and continued sorting. The cauldron was self heating, so no fire was needed, and Violet turned it on with a touch of her wand.

The first item on the list was simply to make a sleeping drought, which they had to do from memory. They pooled their recollections of sleeping droughts, deciding on a very common type, that they had both had learned how to do. Violet's instruction on potions seemed to have been a bit more in depth than Harry's own.

Then, they were supposed to turn their sleeping drought into a truth serum with their spare ingredients.

Harry blinked in surprise. "What? How is that possible?"

"Well first we have to nullify its sleeping effects, since we don't want the person we're questioning to fall asleep before we can ask them any questions. Once the solution is neutralized, we add ingredients for a truth serum. However we have to be careful that none of the ingredients we add react badly to the mixture we've already made. It could explode, or boil over, or simply became useless."

"Always with the exploding!" Harry exclaimed. "How you noticed that every day here things are exploding?"

"Don't worry," Violet replied. "We can do this."

She began measuring out her ingredients, thinking aloud so that Harry would understand her process. She knew which ingredients would neutralize which, and she consulted her notebook often. Once she left her notebook lying closed near Harry, and he picked it up to look at it.

It was a medium sized, leather-bound book with a silver clasp to hold it shut. On the front in precise calligraphy was her name, _Violet Rozanne Zais._

"I wouldn't open that," Violet advised. "It's my personal journal, and it's spelled with an anti-snooping package. I just take my notes in there sometimes."

Harry remembered the one time he had seen her writing in it in the middle of the night. "Of course," he said and slid it back. The cold stone floor was getting uncomfortable, and Harry dug through some ill fitted cupboards, where he found some nearly squashed pillows to sit on. Violet barely noticed, her eyes squinted in concentration as she peered into their cauldron and then back at the ingredients.

"I think I have something that should work, in theory," she notified him, and tipped a few more things into their potion. The dark purple liquid of the sleeping drought bubbled and churned violently, and they both inched back. Violet looked a little disappointed, but then the churning quieted, and they both peered in. The liquid had turned almost clear, with a little bit of a lavender color to it.

"Well," Violet murmured humbly, "It's not as strong as Veritaserum, of course. Nor is it entirely undetectable, but that's the best I can do under the circumstances."

"That's great," Harry said enthusiasm. "Is that all? Are we done?"

She glanced at the directions again. "No, we have to bottle it and bring it to Friedenwald of course… and someone has to test it, and the other person questions them."

"Well I'm not taking it!" Harry said quickly.

Violet looked at him with alarm, eyes wide. "I'm not taking it either!" she insisted.

They stared at each other warily.

"I did all the work," Violet pointed out. "I think you should test it."

"I see your logic," Harry replied, "But I'm still not taking it."

They half-glared at each other for a little while longer. The thought of all of his new secrets spilling out of his mouth was making Harry queasy; Violet appeared to feel the same way. At the same time, Harry thought that if he was presented with the opportunity to know what the mysterious Violet was hiding, he would be incredibly tempted to take it. And if he was tempted, surely she was at well.

"It seems we both have secrets to keep," Harry said. "But if neither of us will try it, what do we do?"

"We could both take it," Violet suggested. "And promise not to pry into personal questions."

"That's good," Harry said. "If you ask me what I'm trying to hide, I'll just ask you what you're trying to hide, and neither of us wants that."

"At the same time then," Violet decided, "And we have to show we're actually swallowing it." She cupped her hand into the truth serum at the bottom of their cauldron, lifting it to her mouth. Harry did the same, noticing that Violet's hand was trembling slightly.

They each took a mouthful of the potion, opened their mouths to show the lavender-clear liquid inside, swallowed, and then showed that their mouths were indeed empty.

They waited a minute or two for it to take effect. Then Harry quietly asked, "Does the potion work?"

"—Yes," Violet blurted out, almost before he had finished the question, and then smiled contentedly. "Well, that's that."

"What now?" Harry asked. "We should probably stay here until it wears off, in case somebody asks us something we don't want to answer."

"Good idea," Violet said and turned the old key on the inside of the door, locking it. "So that nobody can come in," she explained.

"Aren't we paranoid," Harry said, laughing. "And I said it, so it must be true."

Violet moved to the window and Harry joined her there. They looked out over the empty landscape outside; nobody was by the river or the edge of the forest.

"I wonder what country we're in," Harry murmured.

"Oh, somewhere around the border of France and Germany," Violet said, and then opened her eyes wide at him.

"How would you know— sorry," Harry said, remembering not to ask questions.

"It should only last about fifteen minutes," Violet told him.

They sat down with their backs to the wall, trying to wait out the rest of the time without saying anything. It got boring almost immediately.

"My grandmother would be angry at me for doing this, too," Violet commented. "She'd say I was risking valuable family secrets."

"Are you always thinking about what your grandmother would do?" Harry asked.

Violet shook her head. "No. People tell me what to do all the time; if I listened to everything I'm told to do I'd be a complete puppet. At least here at Deeperbourg the only person ordering us around is Friedenwald. I'll tell you, if my grandmother were here, she'd tried to make sure someone had an eye on me at all times."

"She sounds incredibly controlling," Harry said.

"Yes," Violet confirmed. "Sometimes I think she doesn't care about me whatsoever. She just sees me as a family asset."

"I live by myself now," Harry shared. "I used to live with my aunt and uncle, and they were horrible. Being free is the best feeling in the world. Even when I finally got away from my relatives, all my school years Voldemort was hanging over my head. But now he's dead, I have my own house and I get to start Auror training. I've wanted to be an Auror since the first time I heard about them."

"That's wonderful." She considered something intensely for a couple minutes, and Harry didn't disturb her. Finally she said, "Hey, the serum should wear off any moment," and smiled at him mischievously. "Just one question… what do you think of me?"

"Well you're very beautiful, of course," Harry said, turning red as he found himself into detail, "Your eyes are particularly stunning. Though I know you're hiding something, and sometimes it makes me uncomfortable that you watch me all the time." He shook his head, flustered. "Why did you ask me that?"

"Because I find myself attracted to you," Violet said without any shame. "And I was curious. No harm done, right?"

Harry didn't know what to say. Violet leaned over, almost shyly, and lightly touched her lips to his in an innocent kiss. She pulled back slightly, and they were face to face, just inches away.

She looked straight into his eyes, and asked seriously, "What _are _you?"

Harry stared back for a moment, still stunned by her kiss, but then received a jolt of shock that woke him up. "What? _What _am I? What kind of question is that?"

Violet sat back against the wall and shrugged. "It appears the serum has worn off. Sorry about that last question, I didn't mean to ask it, it just kind of came out. I blame the serum."

Harry shook his head. "Why would you ask me that?" he asked, still shaken.

Violet sighed, crossing and uncrossing her arms. "Because, Harry Potter, you are not normal and I know it."

"Explain," Harry insisted.

Violet was silent for a long moment, thoughtful. "Will you keep my secrets, Harry?"

"Yes," Harry promised.

She laughed softly. "I contained myself the whole time we were under truth serum, and as soon as it wears off, I decide to tell you anyway. Very well then: I have true sight," she revealed, as if this were something important. She glanced at him to see if he knew what this meant and when he shrugged, she continued. "It's different than The Sight. True sight doesn't look into the future; it means I see the present much clearer than other people. I can see through spells, like the concealing spells yesterday. I can tell when somebody is in disguise, like polyjuice potion. I can tell when an animal is actually an animagus. I've never seen a metamorphmagus, but I'm told true sight sees through that as well."

"Most interesting," she continued, "I see things about people. I can tell what mood they are in, or if they're lying."

"So I look different to you? That's what prompted the question?" Harry clarified.

"Yes."

"… What do I look like?"

Violet looked at him thoughtfully. "You've been going through a transformation of some sort since you got here. It's fascinating to watch, and maybe a little freaky. I knew from the first second that you were different, before I even knew your name. Most people have sort of an aura around them, which shows their state of mind. It changes colors and textures. You came down the kill on the first day looking like a thunderstorm. Your aura was so intense; I could barely see your face through it."

Harry thought back to the first day. He'd been suffering a horrible headache and had been plagued by Araeva's dream sendings.

"Then, in the middle of the next night, I was up late writing in my journal when you woke up beside me. Your aura changed; all of a sudden it thinned and spread out into a sort of mist that hovered around you in all directions. Stranger yet, the next day in the Library it formed… tentacles, sort of, and was reaching out to touch people. That was the freaky part. I've never seen anything like it in my entire life."

Harry remained silent. His mind was reeling by this new turn of events.

Violet waited. "Well?"

"Do the instructors know?" Harry asked, "About your true sight?"

Violet shook her head. "No, that's where things get complicated." She seemed reluctant to continue.

"What do you mean by 'complicated'?" Harry asked. "You can tell me."

Violet looked almost ashamed, for the first time since he'd known her. She glanced at the door, to double check that it was locked, and continued in a low voice.

"Like I said, true sight is rare. As soon as my grandmother found out, she contacted the Ministry of Magic right away. She was thrilled, she decided I would become a famous Auror and my family would go home and return to the high status they had before my great uncle ruined our reputation. My aunt home-schooled me my whole life, I was rarely allowed to do anything I wanted. Like I said, I was an asset. Then I came here, and I was passed on to the British ministry. The Aurors are extremely protective of this place, and allow no Ministry officials inside, which is ironic: it's in the name, isn't it? The Ministry could have denied me entrance into MOAT because of my great uncle, or because I wasn't born inside the country. So the Ministry wants me to tell them more about what's going on inside the program, and also watch the other trainees to make sure they're on the level. You know, that none of them is lying or showing something suspicious in their aura. They're afraid dark wizards will try to infiltrate the school."

"But how do you report back to the ministry?" Harry asked. "Do you apparate?"

"No, the instructors keep an eye on the apparition in the area. I'm an animagus; I started learning how to become one when I was thirteen, and I could transform when I was seventeen. They intend to register me later. I'm supposed to sneak away and report back to them on specific dates."

Something occurred to Harry: Violet had been missing from her bunk the other night. "Did you tell them about me?" he asked apprehensively.

Violet shook her head. "No, I lied and I said I haven't seen anything."

"Why?" Harry wondered.

"Because," Violet explained, with feeling, "Even through everything happening around you, I could see that you were miserable, and scared. I didn't think you were a dark wizard, and I couldn't bring myself to turn in somebody who may not even realize they're doing something strange."

"Thank you," Harry said quietly. "Just so you know, I don't mean any harm to anyone, despite any freaky things I do. I hope you never tell them about me."

"Of course not," Violet retorted. "We're friends now, aren't we?"

"Yes," Harry decided.

"So… what was really happening?" Violet asked. "You did realize something was happening to you, right? That's why you were scared."

For a moment Harry felt panicked— she had just opened herself up to him, and he felt like he owed her an answer, especially when she could have turned him in and didn't. Unfortunately, he didn't feel ready to tell anyone his story just yet.

"Oh, I didn't mean to upset you!" She said immediately.

"It's okay," Harry said cautiously. "I'm sorry, I need to think."

"I understand."

Getting to his feet, Harry reached down and took Violet's hand, pulling her up as well. Quickly they bottled their potion. Violet decided to bring it to Friedenwald, and they unlocked the door.

"We'll talk tomorrow," Harry assured her, and they parted ways.

* * *

_Author's Note: I've been putting out all these chapters, but not getting any feedback. If you like this story, and want me to write more, let me know. I won't write more until then. I have some pretty interesting ideas for this story, too. _

_What do you think Violet turns into? _

_Jez_


	7. The Why of Things

The Dark Legacy

Chapter Seven: The Why of Things

* * *

Harry went down to the Library where he didn't know anyone, and stayed there until nightfall. Then he returned to the barracks, changed, and climbed into bed. Violet was in the next bunk, but she pretended to be asleep. He could tell she was pretending because he could hear her thoughts still whirring.

Curious, Harry listened carefully, and got the general idea of her thoughts. She was second-guessing the intelligence of giving all her secrets to a complete stranger, and one with such a strange aura. She had hoped that by telling Harry about herself, he would explain the mysterious things happening to him that were driving her crazy with curiosity. But he hadn't, and now she was somewhat anxious that he might tell someone about her spying for the Ministry.

Harry quickly whispered, "No, I promise I won't." He didn't agree with it, but he could see why she was doing it.

Violet whipped her head around to look at him in distress, and Harry realized he had answered her thoughts.

He blushed, and said quickly, "Sorry!" and pulled the blanket over his head. Her alarmed thoughts buzzed next to him until he fell asleep.

* * *

"_Haven't you had an interesting day?" Araeva commented. He was busy taking bottles, boxes, and all manner of strange objects off the wall of shelving on one side of his hut, and moving them into a large chest. He glanced over his shoulder and nodded to Harry in greeting, then returned to his activity._

"_Yes!" Harry agreed, "What do I do?" He was momentarily distracted. "Why are you packing things? Are you moving?"_

"_No," Araeva explained, "I mean to make a door here."_

"_Oh… okay. What do I do about Violet?"_

"_I don't know Harry; it's your life."_

"_Should I tell her the truth?"_

_Araeva turned around to look at him seriously for a moment. "Do you trust her?"_

"_Yeah, I guess?"_

"_Well when you're sure, then tell her."_

"_I thought you said my life would be in danger if I didn't keep it a secret."_

"_From the general public," Araeva clarified. "I didn't expect you to do everything alone. If you find allies, keep them close."_

"_Then Violet could be my ally," Harry decided. "I think if I alienate her now, she'll eventually go to the Ministry, despite what she said. It's worth the risk telling her the truth."_

"_Very well. One more thing: I thought I'd give you a break, and I haven't released any of your memories in these last two days, but I'll continue doing so soon. Since we haven't gotten that far yet, I wanted to tell you that I used to do animagus exercises with you when you were a child. I would never have attempted a transformation with you at that age, of course. But if you were to pick up the study, I'm sure you would find the results very interesting."

* * *

_

When Harry woke up the next morning, Violet's mind was still in turmoil. He could hear it as he got up. She was already dressed and waiting by the door, her eyes following him almost doubtfully. He sensed she was still quite alarmed about what he had accidentally done the night before.

Still, she was at his side when they went out for their morning workout. This morning, they had a rather unusual obstacle course, which was set up around the back of the fort. There were several steps to the obstacle course; it didn't seem to be as much about being in shape as it did about being careful and precise. The first step comprised of picking up a large bowl of some kind of foul smelling potion, and carrying it as quickly from the beginning of the course to the next step without spilling it. There they had to weave through many low posts without knocking them over. Following that were several large tiles that would crack if you didn't step on them carefully, and lastly you had to leap directly over a sleeping hippogriff, which made Harry nervous.

"That's not good," Ron murmured, clearly remembering Buckbeak's more aggressive side.

Harry and Violet did not have their minds on the exercise, and as a result they performed horribly. After all six trainees did the obstacle course twice each their times were calculated along with how much damage they did to the course along the way. Waking up the hippogriff would immediately disqualify you, but nobody did. Harry suspected it might have been coerced into a deep sleep, because large tiles cracking and wooden posts hitting each other nearby didn't disturb it. Since both Harry and Violet were extremely distracted, their team did the worst. Harry sloshed half the liquid from the bowl onto him, only to belatedly discover that it burned when it touched his skin. He knocked over lots of the posts, which were delicately balanced. The tiles seemed to crack with just a little of his weight, but at least he didn't step on the hippogriff. Violet did even worse than he did, and in the end them both smelled horribly of the burning potion and looked defeated.

Ron couldn't help himself, as he passed Violet he murmured, "Smooth."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and she returned a string of epithets that made Ron blush bright red.

"What's wrong with you two?" Friedenwald asked. "You've been top in the challenges the last two days; I thought you were going to be my best team! Disappointing!" He shook his head. "Trainees, this exercise brings us to today's topic: Stealth and Tracking."

They were given more of the tiles to practice with. You had to step on them extremely lightly, and keep your weight on each foot as even as possible, or they would practically shatter. This was supposed to teach them to walk quietly. Harry and Violet finally did get better, with some practice.

Harry had noticed by now that Violet seemed to have three distinct moods. The first and most common one was when she was silent, apathetic, and almost cold. When she was like this she ignored everyone to the point of rudeness and punctuated this with an occasional sarcastic comment.

Her second mood was the one she was in today, and Harry termed it 'irritable'. Violet seemed to know exactly the right way to lash out at people and make them feel bad about themselves. She even made a cutting remark about Jack that made Jack's eyes fill with tears. Jack quickly hid them and Neville glared at Violet threateningly.

The third mood was the way she was around Harry: normal, almost nice. But she didn't seem to show this side around other people.

They had their lecture (on the importance of stealth, citing specific cases) outside, sitting against the wall near where the hippogriff continued to slumber. It seemed to take forever before they were released for lunch; Harry's mind was on other things. Harry was sure he would not remember anything come Monday, because he had been unable to pay attention to many of the lectures all week.

"Do you want to take our lunch somewhere where we can talk?" Harry asked Violet.

She nodded, suggesting "The workroom?"

They grabbed their plates and left the cafeteria, retreating to their small, triangle shaped workroom at the end of the hall. Harry had a certain fondness for it, despite its irregularity. They promptly locked the door and sat on their pillows, plates on their laps. For a few minutes they ate in silence, almost nervously.

"You can read minds!" burst out of Violet eventually.

Harry bit his tongue, dreading the coming conversation. "Yes."

"How? Since when?"

"Since the middle of the night a couple days ago; the time I woke up and you were writing in your journal."

Violet's eyes widened. "That's when your aura first expanded! I'll bet you are picking up on the thoughts of the people inside that mist that I see."

Harry nodded. "I think I can reach a little bit outside my range when I try, which would explain the tentacle shapes you observed."

Violet nodded. "But why did this happen to you?"

Harry hesitated.

"Whatever is going on, it's big, isn't it?" Violet asked, and regarded him calmly with her ice-blue eyes.

Harry nodded, and put down his plate, pushing it away. Violet did the same. Harry reached out and took her hands, thinking it might help him read her better. "If I tell you, would you ever betray me?"

Her thoughts returned with such surprise and refusal that Harry was a little taken aback, and Harry dropped her hands. "No," she said resolutely.

Harry nodded in acknowledgment. "As you know, I killed Voldemort. That is, his death could directly be blamed on me. What I didn't know was that killing the true dark lord makes you his successor."

Violet frowned, almost disbelievingly. "That doesn't make any sense. You're not a dark wizard."

"If you define a dark wizard as somebody who knows the dark arts, then you're wrong," Harry told her. "Not that I use them."

"Where did you learn dark magic?" Violet asked, sounding surprised.

"There was a wizard in the town that I grew up, and he made me his apprentice when I was seven years old. After a couple years he took my memories away and stored them so that I wouldn't remember him or any dark magic while I went to Hogwarts. He only started giving them back to me recently, and he explained the succession idea to me. He says I don't have to be anything like Voldemort, he says I can be a Dark King. The Dark Kings were here before the Dark Lords and weren't destructive. I figure it's better for me to keep this, whatever it is, then somebody else get it and become another Voldemort. Besides, my old teacher says I can't get rid of it without dying and passing it on to someone myself. That's why it's such a secret, if a real dark wizard found out they would want to kill me."

Violet quietly considered this. "Wow."

"I wouldn't hurt anyone," Harry promised. "I can't even use my mind-reading ability to spy on people's fantasies, it bothers me."

"Do you listen to my thoughts all the time?" she asked.

Harry shook his head. "No, your thoughts are very quiet. I would have to actually focus."

"What else can you do?"

"I don't know," Harry said wonderingly. "There's something I'm supposed to do eventually I think, but I don't know what it is yet. I can do something with my shadow I haven't tried yet: it doesn't seem to be attached to me."

Their food lay cold, forgotten.

Violet finally nodded. "That all makes sense. It would explain everything I've been seeing. But didn't you kill Voldemort last year? Why hasn't this happened to you until now?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. I'll have to ask Araeva."

Violet frowned. "Araeva? That's his name?"

Harry could tell it bothered her somehow. He nodded. "What?"

Violet bit her lip. "It sounds familiar, like I've heard it somewhere before…"

"If you remember where, tell me," Harry said and she nodded.

Harry picked at his cold food.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" He asked.

Violet looked at him sharply. "Alright."

"Why are you so cold to people all the time?"

Violet's eyes went wide, and she considered his question. "I have to."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked. "If you were as nice to other people as you are to me they probably wouldn't dislike you so much."

"No," Violet shook her head. "It's how I defend myself. If they're not my friends, and they don't like me, then I don't care about them. I can't care about them."

"Does this have to do with true sight?"

Violet nodded. "See if everyone was my friend, every time something sad happens to them, and they are a little low or someone is cruel to them, it upsets me. I can see all of their emotions, and I get tied up in their emotions instead of mine, and I spend all my time trying to make everyone around me happy all the time. And nobody is happy all the time."

Harry considered this. _That sounds really hard._

"I consider you to be a friend," Violet told him, "And you can already see this beginning to happen. Yesterday I said something that made you uncomfortable and upset, and I immediately tried to appease you even though it wasn't what I really wanted. I was dying to find out what makes you look to me like you do in true sight, but I told you it was okay even though it wasn't."

"You don't have to worry about upsetting me," Harry assured her. "I can handle it."

Violet shrugged. "It doesn't work like that. I can't help it."

Then Harry and Violet noticed that the other trainees were already meeting in front of the fort, and they hurried to catch up.

The evening challenge was a game of relay tag, where you had to sneak up on the other teams in the forest without them seeing or hearing you. Bastian and Ron would have won, but it ended in a tie because Violet could use her true sight to see where everyone was. Harry was beginning to see how true sight could be used to advantage in many of their challenges; it didn't really seem fair to the other teams. Harry asked Violet if she was able to turn it off, but she just shook her head regretfully.

Harry had to admit he was cheating a little bit as well: he could hear where the others were by their thoughts. He could tune out their words, but he could still hear the hum of somebody's mind as they neared him. Their team could have won easily if they had been on task.

The next day was Advanced Defense against the Dark Arts, which was immediately Harry's favorite subject. The day after that they needed to study, and Harry decided since it was the only day off he would spend some time with Ron. Violet immediately withdrew, but she seemed understanding. She studied by herself in the small workroom while Harry was with Ron and Bastian. The three of them had a lot of fun, but come Monday Harry wished he had studied with Violet. They were tested for several hours on the material of the previous week, and Harry had seriously underestimated his own need to study. Some of the tests Harry could have passed by reading minds, but he made sure he didn't.

Since he tested so badly, Harry spent the next week completely focused on their material. He took all the notes he could, did well on the challenges, and studied hard. He tested better, but didn't have any time to test out his new abilities.

Every night, Harry's mind was filled with dreams. They started where they had left off, when he had been seven years old and just met Araeva. Araeva had given him lessons almost every day, and Harry found himself suddenly full of facts, stories and spells that he didn't know before. His seven year old self was completely devoted to Araeva, convinced he was the best thing that had ever happened to him. Harry still wasn't so sure. After all, Araeva had freely admitted that Dumbledore would have tried to put an end to it if he had known.

Best of all was Violet. She calmly accepted his secret, and he had someone to talk to. She studied just as hard as he did, and proved to be intelligent and have a quick mind. She continued to treat others with contempt, but when it was just the two of them she was always nice. Ron was usually agitated when she was around, and sent her dark glares. Harry usually managed to keep them apart.

And so two more weeks passed before anything eventful happened. The trainees fell into a familiar, if challenging routine and Harry began to like Deeperbourg.


	8. Betrayal

The Dark Legacy

Chapter Eight: Betrayal

* * *

Harry had learned that even though Deeperbourg had a daily routine that he should still expect the unexpected. Every day was completely different. Today instead of their morning workout, the trainees found themselves in the forest, ankle deep in mud.

"Concealment," Friedenwald told them. "In the case that your wand becomes lost or broken, or you are unable to cast any concealment charms without setting off ward alarms, today we will be covering muggle methods of disguise. Consider this a field pretest. I want you to spread out and come up with different ways that you can comfortably conceal yourself for a couple hours. Move out."

Harry found himself a spot in the forest where no one else was in sight, and looked around for a way to hide. He immediately fixed upon the blanket of leaves, twigs and branches that littered the ground around the trees.

Friedenwald found him, and leaned against a nearby tree. Harry expected him to soon move on to someone else, but the instructor seemed intent on watching, so Harry just continued with his task. He gathered several large branches and began laying them out in a framework on the roots of two closely spaced trees. He then covered this framework with many small twigs, which he cemented in place with handfuls of mud. Finally he grabbed handfuls of dirt and leaves and threw them over his creation, and by that time he had almost forgotten he was being watched.

The framework hidden, it now looked like one of the other small hills of dirt, but when Harry got down on his stomach and wiggled forward, he fit perfectly underneath. It was cramped, but if he relaxed and laid flat he was sure he could stay there for some time. He wiggled out, and tried to wipe the thickest mud off his front before taking care of the rest with a cleaning spell.

"Good work," Friedenwald said, and Harry jumped.

"Er, thanks," Harry said, then added, "Sir."

"You've been a pleasant surprise, Harry," Friedenwald told him, and his mouth quirked up in a small smile.

"Have I?" Harry asked, surprised by the smile more than the comment.

"When we found out you were coming," Friedenwald told him, "The other instructors and I all speculated what you would be like. Worst case scenarios, mostly. That your fame had swollen your head so big that you would be intolerable to work with was the most likely. We've heard of your problems with authority at Hogwarts, and weren't sure if you would cooperate. We even wondered if you would be traumatized by your past experiences, and a broken person, able to handle our program. But the Ministry insisted, so we accepted you."

"Oh," Harry said, not sure how to respond.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm glad we did," Friedenwald said gruffly. "You've proven to be none of those things. You'll make a fine Auror one day."

Harry just looked at him with wide eyes. "Thank you, Sir."

Friedenwald left then, and Harry went looking for Violet. He found her by the edge of the forest, and quickly told her what Friedenwald had said.

"Wow," she said. "That sounds like a vote of confidence. You know what? He's starting to grow on me."

"Me too," Harry agreed. "Where did you hide?"

To his surprise, Violet blushed slightly. "I, uh… made a nest."

"You what?" he laughed. "You mean, in a tree?"

Violet nodded, "Just a quick, makeshift one with a couple sturdy sticks. It was just above branches of leaves so I could sit on it comfortably without anyone seeing me."

"May I ask how you came up with that idea?" Harry asked curiously.

"I've made them before," she explained, then looked around to see if anyone was within earshot. "You know, when I was…"

_Transformed, _Harry supplied. _That's right, she's an animagus. _

She still looked embarrassed. "But that's a story for another time."

They all gathered together for one of their outside lectures, and sat on rocks by the river while Friedenwald explained various on-the-go muggle-type hideouts that could be utilized in different surroundings. Sometimes he used a stick to draw simple illustrations in the mud.

Before lunch Violet and Harry decided to take a quick shower, and meet again in the cafeteria.

Harry was done first; he sat down with his lunch and waited for Violet to arrive.

Looking around, he saw her enter through the door, only to be intercepted by Bastian. Harry expected to see the edge of her mouth twist and see Bastian dismissed with a curt answer, like she would with anyone else. But as he blocked her path, her face tilted up and she listened to him. Harry felt the immediate urge to eavesdrop, to reach out his mind to Bastian or Violet or someone standing near him, but he curbed that urge and silently reprimanded himself for nearly misusing his powers. He had no right, and in any case Violet would probably see him do it, and he didn't want to break her trust.

Suddenly she smiled shyly, and an expression of pleasant surprise crossed her face. A moment later she nodded, and they parted ways.

When Violet joined Harry with her lunch, he raised an eyebrow at her.

"What was that about?" he wondered.

"Bastian—" she began but then stopped abruptly, her spine straightening as she lifted her head and looked at him with astonishment. "You're jealous!"

"No—" Harry protested, but then sighed. She could see his true emotions anyway. "Maybe."

"I showed you I was interested in you two whole weeks ago," Violet reminded him, "I reached out to you, and you've made no kind of response since then. If Bastian wants to invite me to eat with him tonight, then I might as well take him up on it."

Harry knew he had no claim on her, just because they were partners didn't mean she couldn't spend time with anyone else.

"No need to feel guilty about your emotions, you can't help them," Violet informed him. She was always like that; since Harry knew her secret, she could talk about it freely. Harry knew it was a relief for her, so he tried not to let it annoy him.

"I might have returned your feelings," Harry told her, remembering their kiss. As they had grown closer, he had found himself liking Violet quite a bit. "But there's… someone else."

"I thought as much," Violet said with a shrug. "Who is it?"

"Ron's sister, Ginny," Harry told her. "We were together at Hogwarts, and it's been kind of understood that we're…" Harry didn't know how to phrase it. They were apart, but he knew that when they were reunited they would start right where they left off.

"It's alright," Violet said. "Believe me, I understand. Anyways, Bastian says the cooks have agreed to give him some extra food tonight, and he wants to take me on a moonlight picnic for dinner." Her eyes glowed with excitement, and Harry smiled back.

"That sounds nice," he said, and relaxed, knowing everything was alright between them.

After lunch, their challenge was a game of glorified hide and seek, which Harry and Violet quite enjoyed.

"You'd think you've never played hide and seek before," Violet joked as they trekked through the forest.

"I haven't," Harry replied, and then asked, "Have you?"

Violet stopped, and then tilted her head. "… No, I haven't either!" They both laughed. "Oh, that our lonely childhoods are at last funny," she giggled.

"Any ideas about where we're going to hide from Friedenwald?" Harry asked her. "Are we supposed to make what we made this morning?"

Violet shook her head. "No, he'll be looking for you under sticks and me in the trees. We need to come up with something different…" She tapped her lip thoughtfully.

"If we covered ourselves with mud—" Harry began, but Violet interrupted him.

"You can stop right there," she gave him a disgusted look. "I dislike that plan already."

They walked further, until they could hear the sound of the river rushing over rocks nearby.

Suddenly the both looked at each other.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Violet asked him.

"Hide in the river? Yes."

"Bubble-Head charm?" she suggested.

Harry nodded. "Sounds good."

The river at that point was too shallow, so the two of them followed the river until it became deeper and they could no longer see the bottom. They cast Bubble-Head charms on themselves and then stepped into the icy water. Before continuing they also quickly cast spells to keep themselves warm. Harry was sure Hermione would know one to keep him dry as well, but he couldn't recall any, and neither could Violet.

_I'll have to look that up, _he thought.

They swam to the bottom of the river and wedged themselves in between some rocks. They couldn't converse under the water because their voices were too garbled to understand, and they didn't want to give themselves away with bubbles.

They waited for the predetermined length of the challenge and then surfaced. Friedenwald had already suggested that they would be doing similar challenges with longer time limits in the future, so Harry and Violet made sure they were dry before they returned to the fort, so that they wouldn't give away their hiding place.

Harry tried not to watch when Bastian came over to see Violet; he didn't want to see her eyes light up. He knew it was selfish, that he should want her to be happy, but it just galled him that Bastian could elicit that secret smile from her.

Fairly disgusted with himself, Harry went to dinner and ate his soup, which wasn't even very good, in silence. He didn't see Violet until right before he went to bed.

"Did you have a good time?" Harry asked her politely.

"Oh yes!" Violet practically glowed. "I don't know how it did it, but he convinced the cooks to give him all kinds of food, and we went out to the edge of the forest and spread out a blanket by the river. He lit all these little glowing balls to float around us, and they kept us warm too. He even had wine. It was wonderful."

Harry smiled back, and as he fell asleep he tried to block the images Violet was projecting, of a riverside picnic with little points of soft light floating around her like a cloud of watchful fairies.

* * *

_Harry found himself wandering the field outside the Little Whinging of his dreams. He didn't believe Araeva had drawn him here, but that he had gone there as a matter of habit. It had become a place of comfort to him. Harry hadn't visited Araeva's present day hut in some time, he'd been too busy having dreams about his childhood and assimilating new knowledge Araeva had taught him. _

_Harry changed his course, heading towards the hut between the trees. When he got there he peered inside, expecting to see Araeva sitting in his armchair, but he was nowhere in sight. Harry remembered when Araeva had been clearing the wall, he had said he intended to make a door there, but Harry had been too distracted to really wonder what that meant. Why would the small hut need two doors? But sure enough, there it was on the left wall, closed. _

_Harry went back outside and walked around the left side of the hut… but there was no door from the outside of the building. Just the inside. _

_Harry sighed. "Of course there isn't, he doesn't need two doors going outside. The other one must go… somewhere else."_

_Suddenly curious, Harry entered the hut and went to the door. The handle turned easily, and Harry slowly opened it, unsure as to what he would find. On the other side of the door was a long hallway with doors. Harry raised his eyebrows; the floor was marble and the doors were all of a dark, polished wood. Harry stepped lightly into the hallway, leaving the door slightly open behind him so he would remember which one it was. _

_The hallway ended to his left, so Harry turned right and followed the doors until he found himself in an enormous entry hall, with vaulted ceilings and a massive front door. There was a majestic marble staircase with smooth banisters of the same dark wood as the doors that swept up and around and out of sight. Harry stepped to the side of the staircase and looked up, where he could see it spiral up high to countless floors. _

"_Wow," Harry murmured softly. _

"_So you like it, then," Araeva said from behind him. _

_Harry turned quickly. Araeva must have just come out of the other hallway, the one across from the one Harry had come in from; the entry hall was symmetrical. _

"_Hello," Harry said, wondering if he was trespassing. Harry almost instinctively wanted to read his mind to see if he was angry, and noted for the first time that no thoughts came from Araeva, he was like a dark window Harry couldn't see through. Harry wasn't surprised._

"_This is the rest of my home," Araeva said calmly, without anger, and Harry relaxed. _

"_Where is it?" Harry asked him._

"_Little Whinging, of course."_

"_But…" Harry frowned. _

"_My house looks like whatever I want it to. For a time it was just a small hut, which suited my purposes, but if I ever require more space I can just make more doors, and more rooms. This particular addition I began working on when you first went to Hogwarts, and then walled it back up when we met again so that the hut would be as you remembered it. But now I wanted to retrieve some things."_

"_Oh," Harry said, wondering for the 100__th__ time who and what Araeva really was. _

_Suddenly Araeva was distracted; he looked into the distance over Harry's shoulder, and abruptly looked enraged. "No!" he bellowed. "I didn't see—"

* * *

  
_

Harry was suddenly jolted awake. There was a blinding light nearby, and he squinted at the figure standing over him; it was a few moments until everything fell into place.

The blinding light was a lit wand lying on the bed beside Harry, which seemed overly bright in the dark dorm room. Bastian stood over him with an indecipherable expression.

"I wondered whether you would wake up," Bastian said. "I should have known."

_What are you talking about, _was what Harry wanted to say, but when he opened his mouth all that came out was a short wordless sound, somewhere in between a grunt and a whimper. Harry was immediately alarmed, and that's when he noticed it.

Something was sticking out of Harry's chest. Harry struggled to get a good look at it. He felt heavy, his limbs and head glued to the bed.

It was the handle of a long knife, buried deep in Harry's chest, to the right and a little below Harry's heart. Without thinking Harry went to pull it out, but by the time his hands slid limply towards it, they had no strength left to grip.

"Surprise!" Bastian said sarcastically. "You're dead."

Harry looked at Bastian with his eyes wide, in shock. _WHAT?! BASTIAN?! But…_ Harry was breathing shallowly, and with every breath the pain increased, like he was getting stabbed over and over.

"Why, you ask?" Bastian said with a slight smile. "I figured out who you are, Harry. And I've come to take what you have for myself."

Harry shook his head slightly, and gasped for breath.

"I came to Deeperbourg thinking I would become an Auror, and then search the world over for the new Dark Lord," Bastian explained. "I didn't expect to find him here, of all places! But there you were. I saw the signs. The way Violet stares at you. I've seen eyes like hers before. Most people don't know what it means, but I do. One of my cousins has true sight; for all that it's so rare. And your shadow… you might not have noticed, but sometimes it's there, and sometimes it's not. I knew you had killed Voldemort, but I never in a million years thought Harry Potter would be worthy of taking his place. You've been keeping things from everyone, haven't you Harry?" He looked amused. "I wonder what all your admirers would think if they knew the truth."

Next to them, Harry could see movement; Violet was awoken by Bastian's voice and sat up. She gasped in horror, and shouted, "HARRY! Bastian, what have you done?" Her voice shook with shock.

_Get help, Violet, _Harry thought desperately, the edges of his vision getting blurry.

"Hello Violet," Bastian said calmly, not looking at her. His eyes gleamed.

"Help!" Violet shouted. "Wake up! Bastian—"

"They won't hear you," Bastian interrupted. "I put a sleeping drought in tonight's soup. I knew you would spot it immediately, that's why I made sure you weren't in the cafeteria for dinner. It doesn't seem to have affected Harry, as I suspected. Dark Lords are notoriously resistant to potions and it's nearly impossibly to use dark magic against them. My family knows this. That's why I used the knife. It's got a very potent poison on it, and is spelled so that the wound will resist magical attempts to heal him. Soon Harry will pass out, and he won't be waking up again."

Harry could see Violet's face. She looked deeply hurt for a moment, as she realized she had been manipulated, but that expression was replaced by pure fury. "NO!" she screamed at Bastian, and then launched herself off the edge of her bunk at him, wand in hand. Bastian reached out and snatched his own wand from Harry's bed before she hit him, and they disappeared momentarily from Harry's view, leaving him nothing but the agonizing pain in his chest.

_He fooled everyone, _Harry thought desolately. _No one ever suspected Bastian, not me, not Araeva, not even Violet. _

Harry heard the loud distinctive crack of a wand breaking, and Bastian straightened, holding Violet by the collar of her shirt. Violet should have cursed him from her bunk, but she had been too furious to think straight, and now Harry could see the panic on her face.

Bastian pinned her against her own bed and flicked his wand, sending an imperius curse at her, saying, "Keep still!" She kept struggling, and Bastian sent an accusatory glance over his shoulder at Harry. "Should have known," he said darkly. "Listen to me Violet. You've known his secret, and you've kept it, you could do the same for me. You have a remarkable gift, and you could be at my side when I'm the new Dark Lord." He caressed the side of her face, and she spat at him.

Harry couldn't see Bastian's expression, but heard the anger in his voice as he said, "You've chosen, then. It's a shame. But I don't need dark magic for everything." His hands went to her delicate throat and tightened, choking her. She made strangled sounds, hands scrabbling at Bastian's shoulders, but he was too strong.

_No! _Harry thought desperately, and _pushed _at Bastian, who stumbled backwards and lost his grip on Violet. Bastian roared with fury, whirling on Harry. He grasped the handle of the knife, jarring it, and then pushed it deeper, to the hilt. There was an explosion of agony, and Harry mercifully passed out.


	9. Guilt

The Dark Legacy

Chapter Nine: Guilt

* * *

It was a deep place Harry found himself.

He had been pushed into deep water from some great height and he was sinking, sinking until the point where his feet would find purchase on the bottom and he would thrust back up towards oxygen, towards life. The further he sank the more the pressure increased on his chest, until the point where he know that even if he were to find the bottom, he wouldn't have time to push himself up before gasping in water and meeting his end.

That's what it felt like, that place. A bottomless hole. Harry waited and waited, losing momentum, and the opportunity to save himself never came. It was up to others to do what he could not do himself.

It was them that found him and dragged him back to the surface, with much anxiety and desperation, but Harry knew none of this. His resurfacing to the world was slow and gentle, beginning with fuzzy sounds and eventually blurry surroundings as his eyes drifted open of their own accord.

_Oh Merlin, not Harry, wake up please… I knew I shouldn't have left them all alone, something always happens…. I had the grades to be anything I wanted, I could have become an Auror, it would have been the three of us like old times… maybe I could have prevented this, had I been there…_

These thoughts, not his own, drifted through Harry's head, soon to be followed by others:

_I don't believe it… I just don't believe it… all that time I worked with him and thought he was the greatest guy… Harry needed help and I slept through it all… disgusting. _

…_He's awake!_

"Harry?" Hermione's voice, tearful, pierced the haze that he was in, and Harry rolled his eyes towards her to see her face hovering to his right.

Harry took a moment to take in his surroundings. He was lying in a bed with a blanket tucked tightly around him, under which Harry could see thick bandages. On his other side sat Ron, with an equally anxious expression. Pain was a dull memory, but his chest felt tight.

"Where am I?" he whispered.

"St. Mungos," Ron supplied, "Private room."

"I got here as soon as I heard," Hermione said.

"What happened?"

Hermione and Ron exchanged glances. "We don't really know," Ron said. "Everyone was… asleep… I'm so sorry Harry!"

"Not your fault," Harry replied, gaining strength, becoming more alert.

"You were stabbed," Hermione said. "One of the other trainees must have been a Voldemort supporter, though why he chose to drug everyone and stab you in your sleep no one is sure."

"Violet must have been in on it," Ron hypothesized. "She was the other one awake, and she had a date with him only hours earlier. They must have been plotting."

"Give it a rest, Ron," Harry said wearily. "She saved my life. Don't tell me she's been arrested or anything?"

"No, the Ministry didn't see things the way I do," Ron said, and sighed. "We slept straight through the next morning, and when we woke up Deeperbourg was in chaos. There were Ministry officials everywhere, and you and your mattress were gone. That's when they told us what had happened. Violet had gone with you to the hospital, she had some minor injuries."

"Tell me about this Violet," Hermione prompted.

Ron glanced at Harry, not wanting to upset him. "A girl there's been trouble with. She's pretty much rude to everyone, sometimes even cruel. I got assigned to be her permanent partner on the first day, but that went up in flames, and I tried to get reassigned. Unfortunately she just got switched to Harry, which I hadn't intended, though in retrospect maybe he did get the better deal. My new partner turned out to be a knife-wielding murderer." He gave a half shrug. "She and Harry got along alright, but I still think she's in on some kind of conspiracy."

"Talking about me?" The door swung open silently, and Violet stepped into the room, wearing clean, simple robes. It was the first time Harry had seen her in something other than a MOAT uniform. She cast a concerned eye over Harry's prone shape, and then gave him a small smile. "Oh good, you're awake."

As she approached the bed Ron moved around to sit next to Hermione, who sent him a sharp glance, asking 'This is the conspirator?' skeptically. Ron shrugged.

Violet took Ron's spot. "How are you feeling?"

"Numb," Harry told her. "I still can't believe… Bastian… and that I'm alive."

"That was no easy thing," Violet told him. "It was touch and go for a while. And as for Bastian… we all feel the same way." A fleeting sadness crossed her features.

"Violet, this is Hermione," Harry introduced, and the two young women shook hands over Harry's bed. "What happened after…?"

"Ah," Violet said knowledgably. "After he pushed in the knife again, I kicked him in the back of the knee, and he threw me against the wall a couple times, during which I hollered some more. Luckily the Instructors eat different food than us trainees, and all the racket got them to the dorm room in quite a hurry. Since I was clawing at him when they came in, for a moment they weren't sure who they were rescuing, me or Bastian. You should have seen their faces when they noticed you on the bed, it was chilling. Bastian tried to take off at that point, which marked him as the perpetrator in their eyes. They captured him and called in the medi-wizards and the Ministry. The medi-wizards brought you and the mattress you were skewered to here to St. Mungos in a hurry, and I came along. I had a bruised esophagus and some cracked ribs, nothing serious. After they fixed me up several Aurors questioned me, and Friedenwald was there listening."

Harry was curious about what she had told them— obviously nothing about himself and the Dark Legacy. So what was the story? He didn't worry that they would ask him to corroborate her story; he was stabbed by the time he was awake, end. He could hardly be pressed to recall details beyond that point.

"The Ministry has Bastian," Violet continued, "Though he was also attended by some medi-wizards. They think he's completely mad, he's been raving about all sorts of crazy things."

Harry could recall Bastian's quick smile and easy charisma that had drawn everyone in. It was hard to imagine that behind that smile had been a dangerous, calculating mind. He sighed, a deep sad sigh that made his chest hurt momentarily.

"It's been four days," Hermione elaborated. "The Wizarding World is in a complete uproar. The newspapers are filled with little else, and everyone wants to know how this could possibly have happened." She shook her head. "We've been taking turns sitting here with you. The blade had all sorts of spells and poisons on it, and I can't even imagine what kinds of bacteria." Ron and Violet frowned at this unknown word. "But you seemed remarkably resilient, as usual." She smiled proudly.

Violet smiled a cool smile that didn't meet her eyes at the other girl, and said, "If you don't mind, I would like to speak with Harry privately for a moment."

A flicker of astonishment crossed Hermione's face before she hid her emotions. Harry and Ron had always been _hers,_ and she wasn't used to being on the outside looking in.

Ron's eyes narrowed and he was about to argue, probably accuse her of intending to finish Harry off, but Hermione gave him a warning glance and he settled with clenching his fists, arms stiff at his sides.

"Not at all," Hermione returned in the same falsely pleasant voice, to show that she could play the same game. She stepped outside with one last concerned look in Harry's direction.

As soon as the door was firmly closed behind them, the mild expression dropped off Violet's face, and she virtually folded in on herself, collapsing into Ron's vacated chair, and laying her head down on the bed. She rested her cheek in the palm of Harry's upturned hand, silky curls draping over his fingers, and looked up at Harry with an expression of profound relief.

"Oh Harry, I've been so worried," she murmured in a tormented voice.

"You know," Harry commented, "If you had done what you just did in front of my friends, you would have endeared yourself to Hermione and perhaps gained Ron's belief. If you were to just show your true self, and let them see that you really do care about me, they would have no reason to dislike or doubt your intentions."

Violet's brows lowered for a moment in consternation. "No," she said. "I can't have any more friends. One friend is enough. Seeing you so clouded with shock and pain and confusion was the worst experience in my life. I haven't known what to do with myself, these past few days, I've just been hovering by your room, I've barely eaten or slept."

"Most people feel that way when their friends get hurt," Harry assured her, "It's normal, but it's still worth having friends."

"For me, it's much too intense," Violet disagreed. "I can't wait until you're better and we can leave this awful place. Being surrounded by so many sick and unhappy people is really getting to me." She hid her face in the blankets for a moment, and when she looked back up at him her eyes were filled with tears. "Oh Harry, I've let everyone down. The Ministry had a specific instruction, to make sure nobody at Deeperbourg had bad intentions against the other students or the Ministry and especially you, and I failed. Even with the advantage of true sight I wasn't able to protect the one friend I have."

"Everyone blames themselves," Harry told her. "If your true sight let you down, I should carry the same guilt. I can read minds, Violet, and I didn't even know."

Violet sighed deeply. "I hate that I _liked_ him so much. I let him give me a goodnight kiss, barely hours before he tried to murder you in your sleep." She looked deeply disgusted.

"What did the Ministry say?" Harry asked.

Violet sat up, and corners of her mouth twisted downward. "Let's just say I've lost a great deal of their trust in me and their faith in my abilities. The instructors at Deeperbourg still don't know about me and the Ministry. I have a handler, Marc Latham, and he visited me the day after, when I had my own private room. He thinks I haven't been trying hard enough, and he'd heard about my date with Bastian. They suggested pulling me from the program, but they decided against it. If they tried to pull me now the Instructors would protest, and then they would learn about the Ministry trying to spy on them. I'm on the track to be an Auror now, for better or for worse, and once I'm an Auror they can't manipulate me any more. I've had enough of it already."

They sat in silence for nearly a minute. Violet held his hand, and it was nice to feel his own fingers respond and move easily as he squeezed them in response.

"I just don't know what to do now," Harry said wearily. "If I don't give all my focus to Auror training, I can't complete the challenges or the testing. So I worked hard, and didn't have time to give any thought to this… other stuff, the Dark Legacy. But if I don't learn how to protect myself, next time someone tries to kill me I might not be as lucky, or have you around to kick people in the shins. I don't know how I'll possibly do both."

"Don't worry about it now," Violet told him. "Just get better. I'll see if I can come up with any ideas."

There was a light knock on the door, and without any pause it opened and a St. Mungo's medi-witch entered the room. Violet leaned back in her chair and her face reassumed its usual mask.

"Ah, I see our patient is awake!" the Healer said cheerfully, moving to his side. Harry smiled slightly to show that he was doing alright, and she pulled down his blankets. "We've kept you asleep these past four days to give you time to heal, time your body has put to good use. Now let's see what we have here. Let's sit you up."

The witch grasped his upper arms and helped him sit up. Harry felt weak, but practically pain free. The Healer carefully unwound the bandages around Harry's torso, and Harry finally caught a glimpse of his wound. It was now a long, pale pink fresh scar on the left side of his chest, although the area around it looked slightly bruised and reddened.

Harry suddenly noticed someone in the doorway watching; Friedenwald, in his usual style, had noiselessly joined then. His eyes were on Harry's new scar, but then he looked up into Harry's face and nodded gravely.

"Looks like you're doing fine," The witch said, sounding pleased. "As soon as you're feeling stronger, you'll be able to leave with your friends." She gathered up the removed bandages and left. Friedenwald stepped inside to allow her through the door, and then let it close behind her, but he came no closer.

Harry and Violet watched him in silence.

Friedenwald seemed unsure of what to say. "I'm sorry this happened to you," he said finally. "This shouldn't have happened at Deeperbourg, not with the other instructors and myself watching over you. It's our responsibility to keep the trainees safe."

Harry shrugged. "Everyone has been apologizing and blaming themselves since I woke up. I survived and Bastian is taken care of, I think everything will be fine now."

Friedenwald nodded. "I want you to go home for some time. The Weasley family says they will stay with you there until you are ready to rejoin training."

Violet cleared her throat. "If you don't mind, Sir, I would like to join them. If it's okay with Harry." She glanced at Harry and he nodded.

"You're fully healed, Miss Zais?" Friedenwald asked.

Violet nodded. "Yes, but… I'm just upset still, I think I could use a couple more days to be over this… trauma. Everyone else was asleep, but I had to watch Bastian try to kill Harry."

Friedenwald considered this. "I understand. I have not forgotten what you did that night. You risked your life attacking Bastian directly, but you saved Harry by getting the attention of the instructors. Since you are Harry's partner anyway, you can return to training when he does."

"Thank you," Violet said softly.

Friedenwald said goodbye and left.

"You, Hermione, Ron and the rest of the Weasley family, all staying together in my house?" Harry said. "I have the space, but… this should be interesting."

Violet smiled slyly. "I'll try to behave." She winked playfully, and Harry just shook his head.


	10. Love Lost

The Dark Legacy

Chapter Ten: Love Lost

* * *

"Ron, will you please pass the mashed potatoes?" Violet asked sweetly.

Along the table, Mr. Weasley continued his conversation with Ginny, and in the doorway, Mrs. Weasley was fighting Kreacher over who would bring in desert. It was an argument that had lasted during their entire stay, which was now four days. Kreacher was delighted to have a family to cook for, but Mrs. Weasley kept trying to take over the kitchen and take part in the cooking process, which made Kreacher indignant and almost combative. The older Weasley brothers hadn't been able to join them at the house; they were too busy with their own lives.

Ginny, the youngest Weasley, had originally wanted to follow Ron and Harry into Auror training, but her parents hadn't been very happy with the idea and in the end she hadn't passed some of the aptitude tests. She was now training to be a field medi-witch, someone who would work very closely with Aurors in the future. She had taken a couple days away from school to visit Harry and her brother.

"Potatoes, Ron?" Violet said in the same sugary voice.

Ron continued to ignore her.

"Ron!" Mrs. Weasley reprimanded from the doorway. "Didn't I teach you manners? Hand the potatoes to the nice young lady!"

Ron turned tomato red. "Mum! I'm an adult now, don't talk to me like a small child!"

"Then don't behave with the manners of one! Pass the potatoes to Violet."

Ron passed the plate, but grumbled, "She's not a nice young lady. She could just have well asked Harry to pass the potatoes."

"Thank you, Ron," Violet said as if she didn't hear him. She glanced at Harry, eyes laughing. Harry tried to give her a stern expression, but ended up quirking a small smile.

Looking up, Harry saw that Ginny was carefully watching Harry and Violet during her conversation with her father. Seeing Harry looking at her, she gave him a special smile. Harry smiled back.

Harry wasn't surprised when after dinner, Ginny approached him. "I found some interesting heirlooms when I was exploring the house. Would you like to see them?" she asked.

"Sure," Harry said, following her. On the stairs, she took his hand and led him down into the basement level, which was filled mostly with storage boxes and old furniture. She had pulled a dusty sheet off of a large couch upholstered in brown velvet, and had been looking through some small boxes. Harry sat down and Ginny showed him some of her treasures. She had found old vintage jewelry, passed down for generations. There were magical watches and lockets filled with moving pictures of Sirius's ancestors. There was a strange large gaudy jewel with some kind of light inside that bounced around slowly, twinkling.

"Wow," Harry murmured.

"I'm so glad I got to see you these past few days," Ginny told him. "I've missed you."

"Me too," Harry said. He leaned over the box of treasures and gave her a long kiss. They moved the box and Ginny scooted closer to snuggle into his arms.

"Why did you invite Violet?" Ginny wondered. Harry could hear from the soft murmuring of her thoughts that she was worried about Harry being interesting in the beautiful brunette.

"She kind of invited herself," Harry said with a smile. "It's ok. She's a friend." Harry emphasized the word _friend_ slightly.

"She doesn't seem very nice," Ginny said. "She just picks on Ron all the time."

Harry shrugged, and they shared another kiss. Ginny's thoughts quieted down to a low happy mumble.

"I just feel like I can share everything with you," Ginny whispered.

Harry blinked. "Oh," he said. Then he realized that was the wrong response.

"Do you feel the same way?" Ginny asked, concerned.

"Yes." Harry said quickly, "Of course."

She sat back. "There's something you're not telling me, is there? Does it have to do with Bastian? Are you doing alright?"

"In a way it has something to do with Bastian," Harry admitted. "There is something I've wanted to tell you. I want to be completely honestly with you, but I'm worried about how you will take it. "

"I won't ever let something come between us, Harry," Ginny promised. "You can tell me anything."

"And you won't tell anyone?"

"I can keep your secrets," Ginny said eagerly. Her expression was earnest.

"Alright," Harry said. "But it's really important you keep it secret." Ginny nodded. "This is kind of hard to believe but… When Voldemort died, part of his powers, part of what makes him a Dark Lord, got transferred to the new Dark Lord. The new Dark Lord is usually the person who kills the last one. That's why Voldemort tracked down the killed Grindelwald. The only way that the person who kills a Dark Lord escapes this transfer of power is if they have never touched a dark spell in their lives. They have to be completely pure of dark magic."

"Do you know who the new Dark Lord is?" Ginny asked.

"Well… Ginny I'm not exactly pure of dark magic. I've never misused any, but I do know a few spells." That was an understatement. The library of spell knowledge in his brain was growing nightly. "So in a way, it's me. Which is a good thing, because I'm not going to misuse those powers, and until I die they won't be transferred to anyone else. That way I keep a new Dark Lord from rising up as strong as Voldemort. There's more to the story of how this came to happen, but that's the important part."

"So you're saying you're a dark wizard?" Ginny asked.

"I suppose you could say that. Dark magic is just a tool; it's not actually bad unless I use it to harm people."

"And you're saying you're the new Dark Lord," she stated.

"Yes."

"What kind of powers do you have?"

"I can read minds, for one," Harry told her.

"Are you reading mine right now?" she asked.

Harry tuned into her thoughts, and was surprised by what he found there: raw panic. He realized that she was sitting completely still, her body stiff with fear.

"Its okay, Ginny," Harry said, reaching out to comfort her.

The second he touched her shoulder, she jumped to her feet. "What's happened to you Harry?!" she demanded. "Listen to yourself. 'Dark magic is just a tool'. Dark magic is dangerous! I thought you of all people would know that, Harry!"

"It's not as bad as it sounds—"

"It's exactly as bad as it sounds!" she interrupted, and burst into tears. She turned to run from him, but her way was blocked by a dark figure that stepped out of the darkness of the basement.

Ginny shrieked, and Harry jumped to his feet.

"Obliviate!"

Ginny suddenly became still, turning back around. Her face was blank. The figure melted back into the darkness.

Suddenly Ginny seemed to wake up. Seeing Harry standing in front of her, she stepped towards him with a smile, tilted her face back and kissed him. Harry stood frozen. Ginny stepped back with a smile. Her smile faltered as she reached up and felt the wet tears on her face.

"Oh, how embarrassing," she said. "I better clean myself up." She turned and left the basement, footsteps even and calm as she took the steps one at a time. She quietly closed the door behind her.

Violet stepped out of the shadows, wand in hand.

"You obliviated her," Harry said in a dull, uncomprehending voice.

"I had to," Violet said. "Surely you see that." She had a concerned frown on her face. Her thoughts were in a dark grumbling mood.

"Why were you watching us?" Harry asked, realizing Violet had been watching him kiss Ginny.

"I let Bastian hurt you," Violet said. "I may not like that the Ministry is using me, but one thing they wanted me to do was make sure nobody wanted to hurt you. That I'll do gladly."

"So you're _spying_ on me?"

Violet shook her head. "Not usually, no. But I had a bad feeling. I could see Ginny was trying to get you alone, and I know you liked her, but I couldn't imagine her understanding your secret. She didn't, and I don't think she ever will, Harry."

Harry felt frozen inside. It had always been Ginny for him, he felt differently about her then he felt for anyone he had like before. He knew that he would never leave Ginny's side willingly. She was courageous, and passionate. They'd never talked about it, but when Harry was done with his Auror training, they could have gotten married. This dreamed-of future, of Ginny as his wife and their children, faded.

It was not to be.

Harry knew he could never be dishonest with her, and what he was would never change. Would she come to accept it in time? He couldn't know, and he could risk it. If she reacted this way when he told her, he wouldn't even have a chance to convince her to listen more. Ginny was too stubborn, and she had a strong standard of right and wrong that worked against him.

Harry turned and threw the box of jewelry. Bits of metal bounced off the wood floor, sliding away into shadowy corners of the many aisles of storage. He growled frustration after them, wanting to scream. This was not supposed to have happened.

"It's okay," Violet said softly. "I can see you're hurting."

"Go away," Harry said, not caring. Violet left.

Harry sat by himself for an hour, miserable. When Harry finally went back upstairs, he found Ron with his parents.

"I'm ready to go back to Auror Training," he announced.

Mrs. Weasley got up to give him a hug. Stiffly, Harry let her. "I'm so glad you're feeling better!" she said. "We can all be off first thing in the morning. I'm glad we had a couple days together, even under the circumstances. But you're right; it's probably time for you to be back." Mr. Weasley agreed.

"Does Ginny know yet?" Ron asked.

"No."

Ron frowned. "Aren't you going to tell her?"

"No. One of you can do it." Harry left, despite Ron's disapproving expression.

Harry went to the small guest bedroom Violet had chosen for herself. He had spent a lot of time there. During the day Harry had spent time with Ron and sometimes Ginny, while Violet hovered nearby without participating. In the evenings and sometimes into the night, Harry visited Violet's room and they practiced Harry's mind reading, which was becoming more accurate, and Harry tried to control his shadow. Violet had given him animagus training exercises to do. Everyone else thought Harry was heading off to bed early.

"You're right," Harry said. Violet, sitting on the bed, just looked at him wordlessly. Harry left and went to bed.

Submerging himself in memories of his childhood was a relief. Memory Araeva took young Harry on side-long apparition, into a deep dangerous forest Harry had never been in before. There Araeva pointed out poisonous mushrooms as well as edible food, and they practiced moving quietly without disturbing the often dangerous wildlife. There were big shadowy creatures, and moving plants. At one point Harry wandered away and was suddenly surrounded by a group of five vampires, hunting. They surrounded him, drawing in closer with fangs sliding out over their white, bloodless lips. Their eyes were piercing red.

Young, naïve Harry watched them curiously approach, feeling a small note of alarm. When one reached out to touch him, Araeva was suddenly standing in the trees nearby.

"Careful with the kid," Araeva said in a low voice. "I have plans for him."

Seeing Araeva, the Vampires fled. They were suddenly and immediately gone.

It occurred to sleeping Harry how dangerous the woods were, and how easy he could have died there. But young Harry, almost eight years old, had such complete faith in his mentor that the danger didn't bother him. He followed Araeva trustingly through the trees for several hours more.

The sunlight, falling through a crack in Harry's curtains and over his bed, waking him, was not welcome. In fact, Harry couldn't remember a time he had been less happy to wake up. He knew he had to get out of the house; it was torture for him here, knowing Ginny was nearby. He wanted to be back at Deeperbourg where he would be distracted by the demanding training.

Harry ate breakfast early, to avoid the others, but Ginny still managed to corner him as he brought his small bag down the stairs.

"Harry," she said quietly, blocking his path. "Why didn't you tell me yesterday you wanted to leave?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm feeling better. I have to get back at some point."

"I know…" she said hesitantly. Then she sighed and stepped closer for a goodbye kiss. Harry didn't.

Ginny frowned. "What is it?"

"Ginny, you know I care for you," Harry began to say, seeing shock in her eyes. "But I don't think it's the same between us anymore."

She was quiet for a few seconds "Was it something I did?"

"No. Just the distance, is all."

"Is it Violet?" Ginny asked as her expression darkened. _"They've probably been together all this time at Auror training,"_ Ginny thought, _"That's probably why Ron hates her."_

Harry hesitated contemplatively. "Yes," he said finally. "I've found someone else." Harry knew it was cruel, but he forced himself to look into her face. It was the best way to clearly end it once and for all. He didn't want to leave Ginny hanging. She was pretty, and intelligent. She would find someone to comfort her.

Ginny burst into tears, and turned and fled down the stairs. And the bottom, she passed Ron, who watched her go.

When Harry caught up to him, Ron had an angry expression. "What was that all about, mate?"

"We broke up."

Ron looked confused. _"I wasn't expecting that… I thought Harry felt the same way about my sister as I feel about Hermione?"_

Harry moved on before Ron could ask what happened. He said goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and then he and Ron stepped outside the front door where Violet was already waiting for them. The three of them apparated away, to the large open field in front of Deeperbourg. They immediately went inside and dropped off their bags, parting ways to change into the MOAT uniforms and get ready for their first day back.

Deeperbourg was quieter and more wary than they had left it. All the instructors told Harry they were glad to see him back, and the students waved excitedly. Ron avoided Harry, and Harry avoided Ron, but Violet appeared quietly at Harry's side as he walked out to join the other students.

Ron was already standing with Jack and Neville.

"Glad to see you back," Neville said. "Since you three left we've been only doing review. It was a nice break, but I kind of enjoy all the challenging stuff. It would have been terrible if you'd survived Voldemort only for some arrogant dark wizard wannabe to do you in."

Jack frowned at him. "That was a little callous, Neville."

"Oh. Sorry mate."

"Perfect timing, you three," Frederik Friedenwald said in his booming voice, appearing in front of them all. "It's time to get back to business. We're one person short at the moment, but Ron's new partner will be arriving tomorrow!"

Everyone looked at each other in surprise.

"You're replacing Bastian?" Ron asked.

"Of course," Friedenwald replied. "We can't have uneven teams now, can we? Don't worry Ron, we've checked out this one thoroughly, and he had to undergo a short Veritaserum interrogation to assure he didn't mean anyone at the school any harm. Today we will work on Stealth and Tracking in magical forest environments, but that will be tomorrow topic: Interrogation."

They all asked, but he wouldn't say anything more about the new trainee.


End file.
